The Life Of A Winchester Woman
by Evalee Knight
Summary: When the vampires learn of a powerful ring that a friend of Jo's carries, she's placed in the care of Sam and Dean. The vampires can never lay hands on the ring, for it promises them power over human kind.  M/F spanking in later chapters! No Wincest!
1. Letters to Jo Part I

**AN: Hello, and welcome to my story. First off, there are a couple of things I need to explain about this story. I'm going to try to be as simple and as quick as I can be. So, I like the thought of Sam and Dean with girlfriends. However, I haven't liked any of the women they've put on the show so far. Not enough, that is. So I made my own two up. Let me assure you I strive to make sure that my OC characters are not Mary Sues. I despise Mary Sue characters.**

**So this is how the story will start. The first two chapters will be made up of letters written to Jo by Sam's girlfriend, Rivan. These letters will explain the storyline and everything else. From the third chapter on I will write normally from Sam's girlfriend's point of view. Most of the story will be from her point of view, with a few exceptions here and there. **

**Please note that this story does not match the time line of the show. I don't want it to. There will be a few things that will stay consistent, like Sam and Dean's father being dead, among other things. In my story, Ellen and Jo are still alive, just because they are awesome gals. And of course Bobby is still around, because he is beyond awesome, and Castiel is around too.**

**Now here's the most important part of my author's note. I am a domestic discipline writer. That means I write stories where the men are the take charge kind of guys, and have absolutely no problem with giving their women a good spanking if they've earned one. That being said, there _will_ be M/F spanking in later chapters. So yes, Sam and Dean will spank their girlfriends from time to time. If you don't like these kinds of stories, _please _leave now. Don't bother reading any further. And please don't go on my review board and leave a nasty review about how you hate these kinds of stories.**

**Now then. Every domestic discipline writer handles domestic discipline differently. There is no wrong way to do it. Remember that. However, I have been told a few times that my type of domestic discipline is harsh. I don't believe it to be, but everyone is entitled to their opinion. So what I'm going to do right now is tell you what kind of spankings you'll find in this story. All spankings are delivered with the hand of course, as well as a belt, and at one point toward the end of the story, a hair brush. Other punishments occur from time to time, such as a moment of corner time, early bed time, and at times privileges are revoked. Now you know exactly what to expect in this story as far as punishments go. Fair warning all around.**

**Having said all that, I will go ahead and say that Sam and Dean may be out of character every now and then. Although now that I've seen all seven seasons of the show, I'm not going to worry too much about writing Sam and Dean out of character. They constantly change, especially Sam, so I don't think I can do much damage.**

**So, enough talking now. I present to you now my own idea of the Supernatural world. If you want to follow along and enjoy that world, that's great. If not, that's cool too. I'm writing this mainly for me but people are welcome to enjoy it with me. Oh yeah, I don't own Supernatural or any of the characters, but I do own the two women I made up. I also own the story idea.**

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><p><em><strong>Story Summary: When a friend of Jo's finds herself in danger due to a mysterious ring her mother gave her years ago, Jo puts her in the care of Sam and Dean Winchester, for they are the only ones that can protect her. The vampire community is after her and the ring she carries, which can give the vamps great power.<strong>_

_**Rivan Langston finds herself thrust into a world of dangerous spirits and frightening demons, but Sam and Dean are the best Jo knows at hunting and destroying these things. As Rivan learns to cope with her new life she finds love in the heart of Sam Winchester, something she had not expected. But the vampire threat grows stronger, and soon her best friend Eden Sterling finds herself targeted by the vamps in an attempt to get Rivan to cooperate. Eden also falls under the protection of the Winchester brothers, and finds her own love in the stubborn heart of Dean Winchester.**_

_**But the vampires are determined to have the ring Rivan carries, and soon the two future Winchester women find themselves facing these creatures alone.**_

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><p><em><strong>January<strong>** 15****TH**** 12:00 AM** (I know I usually put where we are currently, but I can't right now)_

_Dear Jo,_

_I know it's been a while since I last wrote. Almost a whole year, actually. I'm sorry, it wasn't my choice to stop writing to you. Sam and Dean felt it would be better if I stopped for a while. It worried them that you weren't writing back or at least calling and they were afraid my letters were getting into the wrong hands. What's going on? I hope you're okay. You haven't even talked to Sam and Dean. You know how to reach us so please at least let us know you're okay. _

_I'm praying that you are and that you've just been too busy to write back. I know how things get. I'm also praying that your silence is not due to the fact that my letters have been falling into the wrong hands. I put a lot of information in my letters to you, so I hope that isn't the case. Dean does too. When he found out what I was writing to you, he cussed a lot. No worries though. It was really kind of funny, actually. As long as I was hiding behind Sam, that is._

_I don't know if I'll even send this letter to you. I guess I really shouldn't be writing it because Sam and Dean haven't said I could write to you again. So I guess I better not send it, because it's hard to mail a letter without them seeing. They've been watching me more closely these past few weeks, but that's partly my fault. Actually, if you ask them, they'll tell you it's all my fault. But I'll explain about that later. _

_I wish you had an email address. What do you have against emails? You have a laptop. It would be a lot easier to write to you. I have my laptop with me as you know, and I could keep you updated with just a few clicks of a button. Maybe one day you'll set one up. And then maybe one day Dean will stop chasing women. Ha ha!_

_Anyway, I'm not going to say a whole lot about what we're doing right now, in case I do send this letter and someone else besides you gets it first. We're all doing well, and of course I still have the ring. We haven't seen any members of the Fang Gang for several months now. But, as the guys like to remind me, that doesn't mean anything. _

_We're getting along better, Dean and Sam and I. Well, I really didn't have much of a problem with Sam, but Dean could be, and sometimes still is, a real pain in the ass. But at least he's stopped with the __**Lord of the Rings**__ jokes. You know, one Ring to rule them all. I can't believe he's watched all of those movies. Well I guess I can really, because I found out he only did because he thought Liv Tyler was hot. Typical._

_Anyway, I know when I first started writing you my letters were full of complaints. I had lost my home, my freedom, and friends. I was stuck with two guys I didn't even know, but I had to be content with being told that they were good guys and could protect me. I must admit that they've done a great job with that, but adjusting to my new life wasn't easy, as I'm sure you remember from my earlier letters. I still find some things hard but I can deal with them much better now._

_The main reason why I wanted to write to you was to thank you for sending me to the Winchesters in the first place. Bet you never thought I'd thank you for that, did you? I'll give you a moment to get over your shock. (Pause) Okay your moment is up. Anyway, I wanted to thank you because I have never felt so safe since…well, since I found out that my mother's ring was some sort of magical ring that could give vampires the power to enslave as many people as they want and them not even know it. Wow…when I put it that way I don't know how I could ever really feel safe. But I do. Sam and Dean know their stuff and they know how to keep me safe. _

_I've learned a lot of things since I've been with them, things that I never thought I'd learn. Like how to shoot guns. I know how to handle all of the different guns they have in the trunk of the Impala. It's an odd feeling. I never thought I'd need to know how to use weapons. And Sam has been teaching me how to defend myself in a fight. I'm not as good as he is at it, but I know enough to at least throw off an attacker. As long as the attacker is human, that is. Sam is still teaching me new things though. I don't know how good it'll be against a vampire, but I hope I never have to find out._

_So all in all things are going well. But the main reason why I'm so happy is because…well remember when I told you over the phone a while ago that Sam seemed kind of interested in me? Well he was, and now we're together. We actually have been for a while now. I know this is going to sound corny to you, but I've never felt so complete and at peace. Sam is the guy I've been waiting for. And yes I know I'm only twenty-five years old and I haven't lived long enough to know if I've really found Mr. Right, but I'm here to tell you I have. _

_I've been with the Winchesters two years now, and Sam and I have been together exactly a year today. I love him, Jo. And I want to be with him forever. Even if he has to do this ghost hunting job for the rest of his life, I want to be by his side as he does it. I've told him this several times, but he just smiles at me in a sad kind of way and strokes my cheek with the back of his hand. Then he kisses me and I forget about everything else. Yum. (Wanders off into a small but intense early morning day dream)_

_Okay I'm back now, lol. Sorry, I know you hate text speak, but I like the "lol" one, so there. As I was saying, Sam and I are together, and everything is perfect and I'm happier than I've ever been. But I do have a small complaint to share with you. It's going to sound crazy but I haven't had anyone to share it with in months, since I had to stop writing to you. But I have to talk to someone about it. I'm blushing as I try to think how to word it, but I suppose there's really only one way to say it. And yes I'm literally blushing. Don't laugh!_

_Anyway, I'm avoiding the subject. Like I said, I can't think of a better way to put it, so I'm just going to say it flat out. Did you have any idea that the Winchester boys believe that a woman is never too old to spank? Yes, you read that right. You haven't gone nuts, and neither have I. I'm willing to bet that you didn't know about this, because I know you would have told me if you had known._

_It actually started not long after Sam and I officially got together. And at first it really didn't come from Sam. In the past year I bet you Dean has threatened to spank me at least three times a week. I've earned most of those threats because I wandered away from them, and I've earned the rest of the threats with my smart mouth. Like I said, Sam never actually threatened to spank me (although he sure has given me some dark looks in the past) but he's already proved that he's of the same mind as Dean. _

_One time about eight months ago they had a job investigating this huge old house that had a psychotic spirit in it that adored killing people in the most awful ways. Six people had already died in the house and one had gone missing. Seriously, why don't people just burn houses like that down? Or bulldoze them? I asked Sam and Dean that, and they said sometimes that doesn't help because spirits can haunt land too, not just a house. Great. Anyway, one night Sam and Dean went over there with a plan to end it. I wanted to come of course but Sam wouldn't let me. He told me I had to stay at the hotel while they took care of business. _

_Hey, side note because I just realized I haven't told you about something I should have mentioned a long time ago, though I don't think Sam had it the last time I talked to you. Anyway, Sam has a special charm that keeps vampires away. That's why they haven't attacked us yet, and that's how Sam's been protecting me when he and Dean have to leave me alone in a hotel room. _

_I don't know all the details about it. All I know is he got it from some woman who put a spell on it that would keep vamps away, but it would only work for Sam. But she shared a secret with him, a chant of some kind that allows another person to wear it and have the same kind of protection, but only for a few hours. Sam wears it on a leather cord around his neck, and I get to wear it when they won't take me on a job. _

_It's a stone, and Sam says it's called Mexican Fire Agate. It's the most stunning thing I've ever seen. Sam said the woman that gave it to him could have sold it for almost four hundred dollars. He said she actually dug it up herself and cut and polished it, making it into a charm to be worn. It's so beautiful, and even better, it works. As long as Sam's around me and wearing it, I'm safe. If I can't be with him I get to listen to him say funny words while he's holding my hand, and ta-da! I have the same protection for a limited amount of time. Pretty cool, huh?_

_But I tried to argue with Sam and say that he had to take me everywhere with him, because how can he stay protected if I was wearing the thing? He said I needed it more than he did in serious situations because he and Dean know how to kill vampires. As Dean so kindly, and loudly, pointed out, they can handle them and I can't. Jerk._

_Anyway, as I was saying they were going on this job and wouldn't let me come, and of course I wasn't going to have any of that so I followed them. This is the reason why they now keep a closer eye on me. So I followed them to this house, and that freak of nature ghost almost killed me! To make a long story short Sam and Dean saved the day, and Dean was fit to be tied. He started toward me fully intending to blister my ass, that's how he put it, but of course Sam wouldn't let him. _

_They got into a horrible fight about it, and for the first time since I started traveling with them Sam was mad at me. Very mad. You know Dean has quite a temper and can be scary when he's mad, but sometimes when Sam's real mad he goes quiet and kind of cold. A cold anger can be worse than a fiery one. Not that I believe that Sam would ever seriously injure me. I know he wouldn't. But I've gotten the idea that it would be healthy not to push him too much. This is, as far as my ass is concerned. O_O_

_Anyway Dean drove us back to the hotel and Sam and I got out, but Dean drove off. Later I learned he went to some local bar to blow some steam off. But oh well. When Sam and I got into the hotel room he actually hauled off and smacked me across my ass, VERY hard! I shrieked and was stupid enough to try to attack him. Try being the key word here. He got the best of me (no surprise there, even though I'm supposed to know how to defend myself) and pinned me down on the bed. _

_I struggled as much as I could but it didn't help at all. He wasn't being rough and he wasn't hurting me, but he wasn't holding me lightly either. He made me stay put until I calmed down and would only let me up after I swore I wouldn't try to jump him again. He made it very clear what the consequences would be if I did._

_He was still mad when he let me up and of course I was too, and we didn't talk anymore that night. I went to my room, which was right next to his and Dean's. Sam made me keep the door leading into my room open and he kept theirs open but that was nothing new. That's the rule if I want my own room when we stop and rest for the night. _

_No one talked much the next day. We drove until the sun set and then Dean found us another hotel. After checking in I found myself alone with Sam again and we talked. Or he talked actually. Again he told me about how he lost Jessica, and he told me there was no way he would ever be able to survive another loss like that again. He wasn't going to lose me and he was going to do whatever it took to make sure I was safe. Even if, and I'm quoting here, he had to spank my stubborn but beautiful little ass every single day. Ummm…yikes?_

_Then he grabbed me and kissed me in a way he had never kissed me before. All of his anger, fear, desperation, love and protectiveness was in that kiss. It was a hard kiss but not anywhere near unpleasant. Intensely mind blowing yes, but not unpleasant. In that moment I understood him as I've never understood him and nothing has changed since._

_I know you're probably going to suggest that I get my head checked but…Jo, I still love him. I know that if I put myself in danger he'll spank the hell out of me, but I still love him. I still want him. Maybe I really am insane but I don't know how to describe how I feel or why I feel it. I still want to be with him through everything. I still want to marry him and maybe even have kids with him. Not sure how that would work with us on the road all the time but that's nothing I can worry about right now. But the point is Jo…I need him. _

_So if you ever get to read this letter, please don't try to kill him for being a bossy, domineering pig. He really isn't but I know that's probably what you would think. Oh yeah, don't kill Dean either. I might not miss him, but I know Sam would._

_Okay sorry about this, but enough with the heavy talk. It's suddenly made me tired. How is Eden? I miss her so much. I wish I could see her again, even if it was just once and only for a little while. Sam won't let me write her or even call her at all because he knows she'll try to find us. And of course he's right. She's been my best friend since I was four. She's a year older than me, same age as Sam. I put in the reminder because you always forget. ;-) Anyway she's more like a sister really. If she knew half of the stuff I've gone through over the last two years she would have tried to find me a long time ago. _

_She's so wild and crazy I'm afraid she's going to get into serious trouble some day. Hey maybe she should come travel with us for a while! She and Dean would be at each other's throats before nightfall and that would be just plain funny to watch. Though I bet he would actually spank her. And as much as I adore her she'd probably do or say something bad enough to deserve it. Don't tell her I said that, lol._

_Well as much as I hate to I better go to bed. I'm actually typing this on my laptop so I guess I won't be sending this unless I find some place to print it out. I'm in my room alone and am supposed to be asleep. We're getting up earlier than usual because Dean wants to get to—oops almost told you where we were going next! _

_Anyway he wants to get there as soon as we can tomorrow so they can start a new job. I might get to tag along. But only to a certain point of course. If things get too dangerous it's right back to the hotel with me, with thoroughly salted doors and windows, because of course there are other things besides vampires out there that would try to get me. I'm always left well protected when I'm left alone, but I just hate being made to stay behind. But that's just the way it works._

_Sometimes it makes me so mad. I whine about it to Sam but he just gives me the look. You know. The you-better-do-as-I-say-or-you-won't-be-able-to-sit-for-a-week look. Well, you probably don't know much about that look but I've sure learned a lot about it. I never thought there were still men in existence that believed in "punishing" the little woman when she misbehaves. Oi! I thought those kind of men died out years ago. Leave it to me to find one of the few still left. _

_Oh, and leave it to me to find the one that also has a brother that's of the same mind and will tell on me if I do something Sam told me not to do. What fun! Though to be honest Sam has yet to give me a full out and out spanking. Just a few smacks here and there. Believe me when I say it's enough._

_Okay now I really do need to go. I hope nothing's wrong on your end and you're just busy kicking some demon ass. And whatever else is out there being evil and nasty. Stay safe Jo. And please let us know if you're okay as soon as you can. Tell Eden I said hi and I miss her more than I can even describe. Hopefully I'll be able to talk to you soon. Bye for now._

_Rivan Langston _

_January 15 1:00 AM_

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you for reading. Reviews are welcome, as long as they are polite.<strong>


	2. Letters to Jo Part II

_**January 27**__**th**__** 2:00 PM**_

_Dear Jo,_

_You got my letter, yay! Sam and Dean still don't know that I secretly managed to send it so please don't mention it to either one of them. Sam would be mad at me I think. Anyway, I don't have much time to write but I just had to say how great it was to finally hear from you, though your call brought bad news. I can't believe the vampires are now after Eden just because she's my best friend! She doesn't know anything about the ring or where it is and what it can do. But I suspect that they know that and would just like to use her as bait. __Like you said over the phone, it would be a good idea if Eden stayed with us for a while so Sam and Dean can protect her too. I don't know if you remember but I voiced my fears in my last letter about Dean and Eden clashing if she were ever to meet him, but I guess we have to risk it. I know we have to risk it. Part of me is happy that I'm getting my best friend back but part of me is terrified for her. I want to see her again so badly but I wish it were for different reasons. Happier reasons. __I don't have anything new to report so I guess I better go. We're leaving soon to pick Eden up from the air port. Wish us luck! Stay safe Jo, and keeping fighting. I know we will._

_Rivan_

_**February**__**17**__**th**__** 1:00 AM**_

_Dear Jo,_

_I'm sorry I haven't written to you before now. We've been busy and things have been chaotic since Eden came. She and Dean are clashing just like I thought they would. He threatens to spank her at least five times a day. But get this. I think he likes her. I mean really likes her. And I think she likes him just as much, though she has a tendency to have a shrieking hissy fit when he threatens to turn her over his knee and paddle her ass a sweet cherry red. His words exactly. He hasn't spanked her yet but I think it's just a matter of time._

_We're all okay otherwise but there's been an increase of vampire sightings. Sam saw one just yesterday and Dean saw one two days before that. They're watching us but right now they don't have the nerve to strike. They know who Sam and Dean are and they know what they can do. I don't know if they know about the charm Sam has, but I do know that they're scared of the famous Winchester men and right now that's enough to keep them away. I only hope they stay away long enough for us to figure a way out of this._

_I wear the ring around my neck now. Sam got me a beautiful sterling silver necklace to put it on. He said it would be safer if I carried it like that. I keep it out of sight of course, hidden down my shirt. The vampires never see me with it but they know I have it. I'm scared. I'm scared for Sam and Dean, and for Eden. __If it weren't for me and this stupid ring they wouldn't be in danger. Of course, if I never got the ring to begin with I probably never would have met Sam. I keep reminding myself of that every time I feel like cussing at the ring. We can't destroy it you know. We've tried. Sam thinks we have to have some special weapon or maybe some special spell to do the job. He's been digging around the Internet and every library we come across to see if he can find the answer. He's gone over and over his father's old note book, hoping he'll find some clue he missed. He hasn't had any luck yet. But he'll find something soon. We just have to hang in there until he does. Let us know if you come across anything. Be safe._

_Rivan_

_**March 1**__**st**__** 5:00 PM**_

_Dear Jo,_

_The vampire sightings are getting worse. We've seen a total of seven in the last week alone. I'm afraid they're going to attack us any time now. Dean says bring it on when I voice that fear, but Sam doesn't look as confident. I think there may be some limits to that vampire charm he has. If there is, he won't tell me about it. But the vamps…they just keep popping up all over the place. We have no idea how many are out there watching us. And all because of me and this stupid ring. __Before I dive head first into a three page whine fest, guess what? Dean and Eden are together now. Yep, boyfriend and girlfriend. So sweet. Though most of the time they're not very sweet toward each other. They like to argue and see who can be more of a smart ass. They're pretty much tied on that in my opinion. _

_Though she tries not to show it, Eden seems crazy about him. I can tell by the way she looks at him when he's not looking at her. And Sam says the same thing about Dean. He says Dean talks about Eden all the time when it's just him and Sam. And then when he sees her again they take off with the arguing. I swear it's a thrill to them. Sometimes it's funny to listen to, and sometimes it's not. She's still managed not to get herself spanked though. I've managed the same actually. Hey, miracles really do happen!_

_Crap, hate to end this so quickly but Sam says we have to go. Dean thinks he picked up a vampire at the bar he was just at. We need to leave. Talk to you later._

_Rivan_

_**March 10**__**th**__** 4:40 AM**_

_Dear Jo,_

_I have decided something. I can't stay with Sam and Dean and Eden anymore. They're all in danger because of me and the ring. As soon as I can I'm going to sneak away. I think I've learned enough from Sam and Dean to protect myself on my own. Since I know you'd tell on me the moment you read this, I won't be sending this letter to you. It just makes me feel better to write my problems and decisions out right now. I hope you're safe. And I hope I can end all of this soon._

_Rivan_

_**March 30**__**th**__** 6:24 PM**_

_Dear Jo,_

_I've put my plan into action. I'm no longer with Sam and Dean. But I'm not alone. Eden is with me. She saw my letter to you on my laptop and made me tell her what I was planning. Of course she wasn't about to let me go off by myself, so we both snuck off just a few days after I wrote your last letter. One night Sam and Dean walked across the street to a seedy bar because they learned someone there might have information on the job they were currently doing. They left us at the hotel, with Sam's charm, and we snuck off. I left Sam the charm, since it only works for a few hours for me. He's going to be so pissed at me for doing this._

_We…we took Dean's car. The Impala. I didn't want to, but Eden insisted that we needed it more than Sam and Dean. Though we're old enough to rent a car we didn't want to risk it because it would make us too easy to track. I reminded Eden that if we took the car that would leave Sam and Dean without one, but she said Bobby was sure to have a spare car for them to use, so she wasn't worried about that. I begged her to reconsider taking the Impala but nothing I said could change her mind. I think she did it because she was mad at Dean at the time. _

_The night before we left she had walked out of the hotel room while Sam went to get ice and Dean was getting something out of the car. She just did it because Dean told her not to. Said she was tired of being ordered around. So she just walked out of the room. Dean caught her of course and dragged her back in to the hotel room. She got three smacks on the ass for that little stunt. And he smacked her hard too. __It was the first time Dean had ever done that. It hurt her feelings a lot, and then she got mad. She'd already known about my plan to leave so when we got the chance the next night she jumped on it. She took all the cash Dean had in his wallet. She didn't take any of his credit cards because she has one of her own. Under a false name of course._

_So here we are, miles away from Sam and Dean. Both of our cell phones have been going off like crazy. Neither one of us answers of course, and the voice mails sound something like this:_

"Damnit Eden, I can't believe you did this! I can't believe you took my CAR! Have you completely lost your MIND? Where the HELL are you two? Eden, you damn well better call me back in the next two minutes!"

"Rivan, I don't know what you think you're doing, but you need to pick your phone up. You and Eden can't take these things by yourselves. I can't believe you did this. Do you have any idea what you're dealing with? Damnit Rivan. Call. Me. Back. _**Now**_."

"Eden, sweetheart, the way I'm feelin' right now, you better hope the vampires find you first."

"You're being stupid Rivan! You're going to get yourself killed! If you don't call me back in the next five minutes and tell me where the hell you are I can promise you that you won't like me for a very long time."

"So help me Eden, when I get my hands on you…."

"Damnit Rivan, when I get a hold of you I'm going to make sure you can't sit for a month!"

_And there's many more. Many, __**many**__ more. They call all the time. Eden has talked about getting rid of her phone because she's tired of hearing it go off all the time. I've told her to turn it off but she can't keep it off all the time, just like I can't keep mine off all the time. She swears she's getting rid of it, but I know better. She's in love with her phone. It's one of those really fancy, nice ones. She hates the idea of losing it, but whenever it goes off she gets this panicky look in her eyes. But of course it's always Dean so she has good reason to panic._

_Anyway I have to sign off. We stopped at a little diner to eat and take a break, and now we need to get back on the road. Wish us luck. I'm sure you know by now what we've done and I'm sure you're cussing us out as much as Sam and Dean are. But still…wish us luck any way._

_Rivan_

_**April 4**__**th**__**, 6:45 PM**_

_Dear Jo,_

_The vampires are closing in. Eden and I made a plan not too long ago to hide the ring if we ever found ourselves in this situation. We've done that now. I left a Word Document on Sam's laptop for him that tells where the ring is should anything happen to us. I need to go. They are coming._

_**April 5**__**th**__**, 10:39 PM**_

_Dear Jo,_

_I'm scared. The vampires have found us. We're holed up in a cabin we rented for a few days now. There are other cabins but they're all far from here. We wanted it that way so no innocent person would get hurt. We've done everything we know to do to keep them out, as well as any other bad spirit or demon. We've got salt in front of all the doors and windows, we're armed with Holy Water, Crosses, and axes that I'm not sure we can even swing hard enough to cut off a vamp's head. We also have a few guns that Eden took from Dean's stash. She left most of the other stuff from the trunk in the hotel room for Sam and Dean. _

_Eden says vampires can't come into any living place unless they're invited in by a human. I don't know how true that is. I asked her if she's been reading too much teen vampire fiction. She gave me a dirty look. But anyway we're not taking any chances. We can keep anything out right now. Except for maybe two angry Winchester men. The promises they leave on our voice mails have gotten…a bit more intense. They've been tracking us. I don't know how but they have been. They're seriously pissed. But no matter how mad they are at us I'd give anything to have them here with us. If the vampires attack I don't know if we can fight them off. I want to call Sam and tell him where we are but even if I did it would probably take them days to get to us. I don't know what to do…_

_**April 6**__**th**__**, 12:22 AM**_

_JO, they're trying to break in. They've already thrown huge rocks and bricks through all the windows. They've cut the power too. And the phone lines. We can't even get a signal on our cell phones. I think they're going to set fire to the cabin, try to burn us out. Eden says we need to go out the back door. Try to fight them. We can only take the bag of weapons with us. Thank God the ring is hidden. Jo, they're coming now. They're coming, we're going to__—_

A loud crashing sound caused my whole body to jerk in response, and I looked up from my laptop, my fingers going still in the middle of typing. I listened hard as Eden stood there staring at me, her mouth open and her eyes wide.

"They're coming," I told her as I shot out of my seat. "We have to leave now." Without waiting for a response I grabbed the only bag of weapons we had and started for the door, pulling a loaded pistol out as I went. Thank God Sam and Dean thought it a good idea to teach me and Eden how to use the many guns they carried. Shooting the vampires may not kill them, but it would sure slow them down. Knowing that we had no time to be cautious now, I flung the door open, Eden right behind me, ready to charge out the door. We never got the chance.

Standing there in front of us, filling up the entire door, was a tall, dark haired vampire. I'd seen many vampires since I'd started traveling with Sam and Dean, but I'd never seen one like this. This one was enough to give even the most experienced hunters pause. He radiated danger, terror, and cruelty unlike any other vampire I'd seen. And here he was, standing in front of me. Smiling of all things. Then suddenly he moved, forcing us back into the house. I stumbled backwards and he moved again, so fast my eyes couldn't track him, and my right hand, which was holding the gun, suddenly went numb, and the gun was gone. Before I could really register its abrupt departure several other vampires poured in behind the tall one, blocking every means of escape.

As I tried in vain to keep my eyes on all of them the bag of weapons that I held was ripped from my hands, and I shrieked and spun around. I couldn't see where the bag had gone. All I could see was vampires. I looked around in panic. I knew there was no way Eden and I could take them all on. Dean had only just started teaching Eden how to defend herself in a fight, and I still had a lot to learn. And anyway, I didn't know if I could ever learn enough to take on a whole group of vampires.

So I remained perfectly still, and for several long moments the tall vampire simply stood there and stared at us, and as he did his smile grew wider. Then suddenly he moved, directly toward me, and the only thing I knew in the next instance was terrible pain.

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><p>The sound of the two women screaming and swearing faded away as the other vampires carried them off into the night. A lone vampire remained in the ruined cabin, standing in the middle of the debris. Shattered chairs and tables littered the floor, as did clothes torn from the suitcases the girls had carried with them. All the weapons they had tried to use against the creatures of the night were destroyed. Only one thing was intact. From a table that had somehow managed to stay in one piece, the active screen of a laptop glowed softly, once again attracting the attention of the lone vampire.<p>

Tall with hair the color of deadly night and eyes to match, the vampire slowly stepped toward the machine. Carefully he leaned over, placing a finger on the built-in mouse pad. A Word Document had been left open, and the vampire could see that someone had been typing letters. Quickly and quietly he read all that the document offered, and when he was done he was smiling ever so softly. Rivan Langston, the woman that belonged to the youngest Winchester boy, had been most unwise in leaving so much information right here for anyone to see. Had she belonged to him, the vampire, he would have beaten her for being so stupid.

But her stupidity was his gain. Thanks to her, he now knew how to get the ring. She had refused to tell him herself, but had been idiotic enough to leave this out for him to see. Perhaps she had hoped he wouldn't pay attention to it. In the dark the vampire's smile grew a bit wider, making him look like the cold, cruel murderer that he was. Humans were indeed very stupid.

Still smiling, the vampire began to type out a quick note right under the one the girl had left unfinished. Within seconds he was done, and after a quick scan of the room, he left the cabin quietly. The laptop remained where it was, bearing a chilling letter waiting to be found by the ones searching for the young women.

_**April 6**__**th**__**, 1:30 AM**_

_To the two mighty hunters named Sam and Dean Winchester,_

_I have your ladies. But as I have learned quite quickly, they do not have the ring. They have apparently hidden it somewhere. I have found on this machine several letters that the sweet lady named Rivan has written to someone named Jo, and have learned from them that she has placed the location of the ring on a file on Sam's laptop. _

_Do call me, kind sirs, so we may establish a plan to retrieve the ring and return your women to you. When you are ready to get into contact with me you need only call darling Rivan's cell phone, or fiery Eden's. Good evening to you both, gentlemen. I wish you the best of luck. You will need it if you wish to keep your ladies alive._

_Yours Most Sincerely,_

_James Talvon, Leader of Vampires _

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><p><strong>AN: That's it for now! Thank you for reading and please review if you have a moment! :-)**


	3. Captives

**Author's Note: Okay, here's chapter three. Thank you _so much_ to those that left reviews, I appreciated it very much! Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. It's kind of a long read, sorry about that. I want to apologize now for any mistakes you might find in it. I went over it but I may have missed something. Well I don't know what else to add so I'll just shut up and let you read. Hope you all enjoy it! **

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><p>Slowly the world began to sharpen into something more than a blurred nightmare. The pain wasn't as slow. With a flash that felt like a red-hot whip the pain turned from a nightmare to a horrifying reality, slashing down across the side of my head. Gasping as though I had been deprived of air, my eyes flew open and for a moment the pain in my head was so intense it was messing with my vision. I blinked rapidly, and suddenly the pain stopped and my vision cleared. Still breathing deeply, I did a frantic scan of my surroundings. My brain tried to makes sense of the panicked messages it was getting as I tried to take in my situation.<p>

Much to my irritation I was unable to get a firm grip on the room I was in, so I instead turned my efforts to evaluating my injuries. Currently my wrists felt as though they were on fire, and I soon learned that was due to the fact that I was tied to a chair, with my hands bound tightly behind my back. By searching painfully with cold fingers, I found that the rope holding me had been tied into complicated knots that I was sure no actual human could ever decipher, let alone master. Being the stubborn, optimistic person that I am, I attempted to strain against them any way. It was pointless, as I knew it would be, and my struggle caused several new flares of pain to dance up and down both of my arms. Moaning slightly, I relaxed as much as I could and closed my eyes, taking in deep breaths.

I seemed pretty much intact as far as the rest of my body was concerned, though there were a few sore spots that I knew would probably bruise, if they hadn't started already. Breathing too quickly hurt, so I tried to keep my breaths slow and even. As I sat there and fought for control, I opened my eyes and looked around again. My eyes were a bit blurry once more, but I could at least concentrate better on what I was seeing. But there wasn't much to see. As far as I could tell through blurred vision, the room was empty. A light was coming from somewhere but at the moment I couldn't tell where. Well, I had at least _thought_ I could concentrate better. Annoyed with my sluggish mind, I squeezed my eyes shut again and continued to take in deep, slow breaths. As my mind settled into a slightly more stable level of comprehension my body suddenly jerked in response to something I heard.

I wasn't alone in the room. I could hear labored breathing, and my eyes popped open again and I looked around, more calmly this time. On the other side of the room, in a dark corner, sat my best friend Eden. She was in the same position I was in. Tied firmly to a cold, metal chair. She was still unconscious, and as her breathing got louder I ran desperate eyes over her, trying to see if she was badly wounded. I couldn't see any blood on her anywhere, a very good sign considering who had taken us. I swallowed hard, and my dry throat protested loudly at being the runner up to Death Valley. I opened my mouth and tried to call out to Eden, but all I got out was a creaking rattle. Frustrated, I stamped a surprisingly free foot on the floor, which was hard concrete, swore silently as a pain shot up my leg, and cleared my throat the best that I could. I tried again, and this time my voice came out and formed actual words, though I doubted human ears could make out the sounds. Especially an unconscious human. I tried any way.

"Eden," I half hissed, half rattled out. "Eden! Wake up, please. We have to figure out how to get out of here." Only silence met my dry pleas. Eden didn't even twitch. Groaning, I threw my head back and glared up at the ceiling, and I quickly learned it matched the stark room. There was nothing in here but me and Eden, and the chairs we sat on. Well except for one other thing. Hmm. It seemed things were popping up out of nowhere. It was odd how that kept happening, and I had to wonder if I had suffered any kind of head wound.

But anyway, a single naked light bulb hung from the middle of the ceiling, and that was the only light in the room. Well at least now I knew where it was coming from. Gritting my teeth, I slowly lowered my head and looked around for a door. In my search I found, yet again, that I was wrong. There was still one more thing in this room. A camera was mounted in the corner right above Eden's head, aimed right at me. Frowning, I twisted my head back up, which caused lights to flare in my vision. I closed my eyes for a few moments, trying to fight back the sudden wave of nausea. When it had faded enough for me to tolerate it, I opened my eyes again and looked above me. Huh. There was another camera in the corner right above my head, pointed directly at Eden.

Taking a deep breath, I looked back over at the camera above Eden. I stared at it for a moment, and the obscene little red light on it blinked at me. I longed to give it the finger but the fact that my hands were tied up made that impossible. I settled with giving it the dirtiest look I could muster, and then lowered my eyes and went back to my search for a door. I found it in seconds, but before I could jump for joy over my discovery the knob suddenly began to turn. I didn't have any time to form a single coherent thought of fear before the door was flung open and a very handsome man glided in. I went completely still and watched with wide eyes as he moved further into the little room.

As he came to stand in the center of the room the door slowly closed, seemingly on its own. I heard the slightest click as the door finished its journey, and then I was left staring at the man in the middle of the room. Of course I recognized him. The moment my eyes met his deadly black ones the memories came flooding painfully back. This was the one that had led the other vampires in the capture of me and Eden. This was the one that told the others what to do and when to do it. This was the leader of the vampires. The one with the master plan.

And as Dean would have put it, he was obviously one bad ass mother.

As I tried to rally up a mental defense against him, the vampire suddenly bestowed on me a smile that would have melted a heart of stone. As long as the owner of said heart was completely ignorant of what he was. I didn't fall in that category. So I glared at him, the smile having no effect on me.

He spoke before I could think of a witty, snarly opening comment. "Hello there love," he greeted me, his voice quiet and soft. It carried a slight English accent, and for some reason that threw me off a bit. "How are you feeling? Not very comfortable I can imagine," he added when I didn't respond. "I would like to apologize for such rude treatment," he continued, waving his hand at me and the chair I was tied to. "As I understand it, you and your friend have a bad habit of not staying where one puts you." He smiled and his eyes drifted away from me. "As your men had the shocking misfortune to find out," he added, and those dark eyes slid my way again.

I stared at him, wishing I could go for his throat, when a sudden moan sounded from the other side of the room. Startled, I leaned over as much as I could so I could see around the vampire. Eden was moving slightly but was not yet fully awake. I watched for a moment and then looked back at the creature standing in the middle of the room.

"Why isn't she awake yet?" I demanded, hating my voice for coming out in a frightened squeak. "Is she hurt?"

"Oh no," the vampire said casually. "She's just fine, I assure you. She just hasn't come around as quickly as you have." I stared at him again, and he stared back, that smile slowly oozing across his face like silky oil. "I introduced myself back at that delightful little cabin you and Eden were staying in," he told me, and suddenly it seemed that his midnight eyes had taken on a strange glow. "Do you remember my name?" I said nothing as I continued to stare at him, but after a few seconds I found I couldn't hold his gaze. Silently I shifted my eyes to the concrete floor and waited.

"Hmm," the vampire said, and his voice was rich and deep, like black velvet. "Either you don't remember…or you just don't want to talk to me anymore. I find that quite upsetting, but if you're too uncomfortable to talk just now, I understand. I can fill the silent void. As I said back at the cabin, my name is James Talvon. I am the ruler of all vampires. I master all those that dwell in the night and seek the luscious blood that humans carry within them. Such a fine treat," he added, inhaling slowly and deeply as he apparently thought fondly of the drink he favored.

For a very long moment he said nothing, and I kept my eyes fixed firmly on the floor. Then I heard him sigh softly. "And you," he continued, and then paused. For some reason I looked up at him, and he gave me another winning smile that was lost on me. "You are Rivan Arlyn Langston. Only child of Jacqueline and Daniel Langston, both deceased. You hail from Baker City, Oregon and you had just started your second year of college not long before your life suddenly changed." He paused, and I couldn't help the question that flew from my mouth at that point.

"How do you know so much about me?" I asked him, and once I had I found I wasn't sure I wanted an answer. I guess in that sense I was in luck, because I didn't get one. Not much of one anyway.

"It matters not," James replied coolly. And he went on without giving me a chance to speak again. "Now where was I? Ah yes. College. An experience you have sadly been without for two whole years now. And in those two years you have been under the protection of two extraordinary hunters, brothers, and now you even belong to one. The youngest one, Sam Winchester."

At the sound of the name I fought hard against a reaction, because I figured that's what James wanted. But at that moment I wasn't strong enough to fight off the sudden image that came to mind. It was of Sam of course, strong and tall and handsome…and looking _so_ pissed off his gaze could have caused a demon to wither on the spot. The image was so real I half expected him to suddenly appear in the room and kill the vampire holding me, but of course that didn't happen. I took a deep, shuddering breath and looked back at the floor as a wave of despair washed over me.

James, naturally, could see all of this, and it seemed to delight him. "Such a joy to watch, that one," he continued. "So passionate, so determined to save as many people as he possibly can…all the while trying to protect all those that he loves the most. Sadly for him he hasn't always succeeded in that goal. And I'm sorry to say he will fail yet again." He paused for a moment, as though waiting for me to reply, but of course I didn't.

"He had you so well protected," he continued. "Something he hadn't done for Jessica." My whole body jerked in response to that and my head snapped up and I stared at him. James grinned, and he showed a bit of fang in that smile. "Sam was so proud of himself," the vampire murmured, never taking his eyes off of me. "So relieved that he could offer you the protection that you needed. His knowledge and ability to physically take on vampires greatly increased your chances of survival, and then when he got that charm it guaranteed it."

My eyes flared at that. So he did know about the charm. But how? Damn. I hadn't been sure if any of the vamps knew. I thought they might have, but I had not been sure. Now I knew they did. Well, at least this one knew. And, judging from his expression, James knew even more about it than I realized. Or liked.

"He hasn't had it for very long, has he?" he asked me. I didn't respond because I didn't see much point in confirming something he already knew. "A Mexican fire agate, isn't it? So magnificent. They're becoming harder to find. They were rare before, but now…now they're real treasures. Sam is lucky to have such a stunning example of the specimen." He watched me in silence for a moment.

I looked up in confusion. He was talking as though he had actually seen the charm. "How do you know what it looks like?" I asked him.

James laughed softly. "Oh come now. Surely you did not think only my people watched you as you traveled? There were times when I myself followed you and the Winchesters. Vampires have excellent eye sight, you know. I could see the stone your dear Sam was wearing." He paused, eyeing me intensely. "We killed the one that gave it to him, you know," he added, almost as an afterthought.

This news caused me to flinch. "What? When? How did you know where to find her?" I asked him as my heart hammered in my chest and my breathing picked up speed.

"It doesn't matter," he replied easily. "And don't ask me who the woman was that gave him the charm. I won't tell you. As I was saying," he continued before I could think to open my mouth. "Sam had given you as much protection as he could, and it was all working so well. As long as you were with him, you were safe. We could not touch you, or anyone else that was with him. And then, the miracle of all miracles occurred. You…_walked away from him_. And you took your dear friend Eden with you. You were no longer protected, and neither was she. All that Sam had went through, all the worry and the pain and the hope he had put into the protection he had provided for you…was all for nothing. You tossed it away as one would toss a soiled rag aside. What pain that must have caused poor Sam."

"Shut up," I suddenly snarled. I had done it. I had given him what he was looking for. A reaction. "I didn't do it to hurt him. I did it to protect him." Almost before the words had left my mouth the vampire suddenly threw his head back and laughed. It was unlike any sound I had ever heard, and it seemed to shake me to the very core. Over in the corner Eden suddenly twisted in her chair, but remained unconscious. I sat there frozen with fear and confusion, and racked with guilt at what I had done to Sam.

I knew what I had done long before this creature had opened his mouth. But I had been selfish and refused to think about it. Now hearing it spoken out loud, I could no longer fight the feeling of it all.

Suddenly James stopped laughing and was looking at me again, his eyes alight with that strange glow. "You thought that _you_ could protect _him_? You were sent to him for protection because you didn't know how to fight us, and you thought you could protect him? Stupid woman. Simple child!"

I swallowed hard and closed my eyes, wishing I could block all of it out. "Why are you saying all of this?" I asked him. "What's the point?"

"Oh there isn't one really," he told me, clasping his hands behind his back. He turned and walked to the other end of the room, to where Eden sat. I stiffened and watched, and my already racing heart tripled in speed. "You're the only one awake. I can't have fun with your friend. She still sleeps," he added, and lifted one hand to gently stroke Eden's raven locks. Eden flinched slightly and her eyes fluttered, but that was the only response he got from her.

"You see?" he said with a shake of his head. "What fun is that? And it's such a shame. She has such spirit. So wild. So untamable. I do hope to at least get the chance to try before this is all over. But alas, not yet." Smiling, he turned away from Eden and slowly headed back my way. "We're really only having this conversation to pass the time while we wait," he added as he came to stand in front of me again.

I stared up at him, hating him with every fiber of my being. "Wait for what?" I asked with a heavy sigh. At this point I could see no reason not to play along. At least he wasn't hurting me or Eden. If I kept him talking maybe that would keep us safe. For a while.

"For your fearless protectors to call of course," he said, sounding mildly surprised at my question.

"Call?" I repeated stupidly.

"Yes of course. They've been calling constantly since I've had you and Eden, desperate to check up on you two. Men in love, especially men like the Winchesters, are so predictable. But now, I await their final call. Ah, that's right," he added when I continued to stare at him. "You were not there when I left dear Sam and Dean that message." I blinked, waiting. "You know what I want of course. You know why I've taken you."

"Well yeah. Duh," I said, going for a brave front that was probably painfully weak in the vampire's eyes. "You want that ring. It's like I told you before. I don't have it. And I'm not going to tell you where it is. Eden doesn't even know where it is," I added quickly in case he thought of hurting her to get the information from me.

"Lies," he said simply. "You both hid it together. You were stupid enough to write every move you made on that laptop of yours, which you had out on that table in the cabin. I read all of those letters you wrote," he told me, his voice suddenly turning cold and soft, like water slowly melting off an iceberg. "I know you left a file on Sam's computer telling him where you hid the ring. I left a message for him and Dean, letting them know that all they had to do to get you and Eden back was find that ring and bring it to me. We're merely waiting for them to call and confirm that they have it. Once they have I shall tell them where we are, and they will bring it to me."

"Idiot," I hissed at him, still going for a brave face even though I was screaming inside. _Why the hell had I left all of that on my laptop_? _That explains how he knew about the charm in the first place. I told him about it. Shit_! "They'll never bring you that ring. Even to save us. Their job is to protect the world from things like you. That ring will give you the power to control all of human kind. They will never give it to you."

"You and I both know that's not true. They would never leave their darling girls in my hands. Knowing all that I would do to you long before you took your last breath" I blinked once, and suddenly James was kneeling in front of me, his face inches from mine. This close I could see deep into his pitch black eyes and in their depths was a small but bright scarlet flame. As I watched with wide eyes he opened his mouth and his fangs slowly extended. Despite my longing to keep control of myself I gasped and jerked back. I wanted to close my eyes and turn my face away, but I didn't dare give him perfect aim at my neck. Not that he needed to bite there, but that's generally where vamps liked to strike.

My whole body was shaking violently by this point, and my voice shook right along with it as I spoke. "If you hurt me now you can really kiss that ring good-bye," I told him as I forced myself to stare into his eyes. "And you can kiss your undead ass good-bye right along with it. Because Sam and Dean will hunt you, and they will _never_ stop until you're dead if you hurt me or Eden. I _promise_ you that."

He snarled then and made a move to lunge, but then stopped. He stared at me for the longest time, and then his fangs began to retract. The process was slow and horrible to watch, but finally the nasty teeth were gone and all he had now was a mouthful of good old normal looking teeth. Then inch by inch he straightened until he was finally standing again. He stood there and stared at me for the longest time, and then he turned away.

"May I ask you a question?" he asked then, his tone oddly pleasant, as though we were just having a nice little chit chat.

Suddenly I felt very tired. "Have at it," I told him. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Indeed not," he agreed cheerfully. "I wasn't going to ask you this because I feared it would only embarrass you. And that would be quite rude." I smirked at him. What a guy. "But I just can't help myself," he continued. "I must know…why did you feel the need to write down all that information on your laptop? It was completely unguarded and just sitting there, waiting for me to find it."

I gritted my teeth and narrowed my eyes at him. "A severe lack of judgment," I snapped at him, annoyed at myself and annoyed at him for bringing it up again.

"More like a severe lack of brains," he said flatly. "I have never seen anything so stupid in my entire life, and I have had a very, very long life." He shook his head. "I must say, if I were Sam, I'm afraid I would have to give you quite a beating for being so foolishly irresponsible."

"Then it's a good thing you're not Sam," I growled at him. "Because he would never do that to me."

"Perhaps not," he murmured, and that slow smile slipped back into place. "But if I were you I would not be so confident about going unpunished for your rash acts. That is, if Sam is lucky enough to get you out of here alive."

I made a face at him. Yeah, I had to be pretty far off my rocker to make a face at a vampire. But I couldn't seem to help myself. "What are you talking about?"

The smile got wider. "I took the liberty of listening to some of the voice messages Sam left you on your phone," he said, and I watched as he pulled my cell phone from a hidden pocket. I could feel the heat rushing into my face as he fiddled with it for a few moments, pushing buttons. Then suddenly Sam's voice filled the room. The bastard had put the voice mail on the speaker.

"Rivan…" Sam's voice was full of pain, as well as serious rage. I cringed. This had been one of his worst messages. "I can't believe you did this to me. And to Eden and Dean. I worked so hard to protect you. That was all I wanted. I vowed to protect you, even before I loved you. And when I did fall in love with you…I swore I would protect you no matter what. I swore to myself that I would do for you what I didn't do for Jess. There was no way I was going to lose you like I lost her. And now it looks like I have and I…" There was a long, terrible silence, but I knew he hadn't hung up.

I love you Rivan," he finally continued, his voice still soft and quiet. But then he spoke again, and his voice was suddenly hard, strong, determined, and seriously pissed. "But so help me, when all of this is over…when I get you back, I promise you that you're never going to do anything like this again, because I'm going to beat your ass until it's black and blue." There was a click and the message ended and prepared to play the next one. I closed my eyes and was horrified to feel a tear slip and roll pitifully down my cheek. Damn, damn, damn, _DAMN_! I sat there and waited for the next message to play, but only silence followed Sam's last, unnerving words. Slowly I opened my eyes and gazed at the beast that was standing before me. How I wanted him dead. How I wanted to shoot him down with just the force of my glare.

But he remained standing, smiling at me in the most grotesque way. "There are many more of course," he said as his eyes moved down to study my phone. "But I thought that one was the best. Eden has several just like it on her phone. I believe in one message dearest Dean told her in no uncertain terms that he was going to take his belt to her shapely little ass. I'm quoting, of course," James added with an easy smile. He studied me for a moment, cocking his head slightly to the left. I said nothing.

"I have to say though," he continued, apparently not needing a reply. "I was quite surprised to hear such threats coming from two modern young men. I was unaware that the human race still bred men like that. It was very common in my day, you know," he told me, watching me with that disgusting smile of his. "A man spanking the woman that he loves whenever she behaved foolishly or irrationally. It was a good practice, I must say. It kept things balanced. The man was the ruler of his household as was his right, and the woman lived the life she was meant to. Taking care of her husband and her children. Seeing to her home. She knew her place. The so called "modern" women of today wander around, completely lost. And they don't even understand why. They can feel that they're lost, but they can't explain why. The answer is simple. They all lack the guidance and the balance that a strong man is supposed to provide. It's really quite a shame. I think that's why divorce is so abundant all over the world. Women long to take control, but they were _never meant to_. Their very nature tells them that, but they fight against it and continue to wander through their lives, lost."

I stared at him for several moments, then took a deep, slow breath and closed my eyes, wishing he would just shut up and go away. I kept my eyes closed for a few more moments, and then opened them again and looked at him. There was no way I was going to discuss the War of the Genders with a vampire. Especially _this_ vampire. "Look," I began. "If you're going to stand there and run your mouth, you can at least talk about something relevant. Like for starters, how long have we been here?" I wasn't sure if he would go along with me, but to my surprise, after a moment of silence, he did.

"Almost two weeks now," he answered easily enough.

My eyes went wide. I was not expecting that. Two weeks? If that were true, why didn't I remember anything? The last thing I remembered was James coming at me, and then there was a lot of pain, and then all had gone dark. Then I woke up here in this horrible little room. I frowned, confused and more than a bit scared. "Two weeks?" I asked, staring at the vampire. "How can that be? I don't remember anything. Have you kept us tied to these chairs for two whole weeks?" If so, why wasn't I more uncomfortable? Why hadn't my arms fallen off due to lack of circulation?

The vampire actually rolled his eyes at me. "Of course not, you ridiculous woman. You've been lying in a bed most of the time."

Lying in a bed for two weeks? Then they had been keeping us very sedated, since I could remember none of it. The idea of lying around in a bed, completely unconscious, with a bunch of vampires around was more than a little alarming. I shook myself mentally. I couldn't afford to think about that right now, because if I did, I knew I'd lose it. That couldn't happen. I had to keep my head straight, for my sake as well as Eden's.

The vampire watched me fight silently with myself, and then after another few moments he spoke. "I had you both moved to those chairs barely an hour ago."

I eyed him. "Why?"

"Because I knew you were going to wake up soon," he said with a shrug. "I have a thing for women tied to a chair," he added. "There's just something so…_delicious_ about it," he finished, breathing out the word 'delicious' as though he had indeed tasted something wonderful.

My stomach did several flips. And then I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "You're one sick bastard, you know that?" James blinked. An evil grin flashed across his face and then suddenly he moved.

One second he was standing in the middle of the room, and the next he was right in front of me again. Before I could blink he backhanded me, and once again lights flared in my vision as the pain rolled through my face and into my head like black thunder. It hurt so much it made me sick to my stomach, and as I fought against unconsciousness a sharp, coppery taste filled my mouth. Blood. Oh, _shit_. James inhaled sharply and his hand flew out again, but this time he caught my face in his iron grip, forcing me to look up at him. I could feel the blood running from my mouth and as James watched it flow his black eyes darkened even more.

"The blood of a Winchester woman," he almost purred as he began to slowly lean down toward my mouth. "Such a wonderful treat. Of course, you're not officially a Winchester woman, but you will be soon enough. Sam is the marrying type after all." By now his mouth was inches from mine and all I could do was sit there and wait for him to take a lick. And all I could do after that was pray licking was all that he would do.

James leaned in even closer and then suddenly stopped and looked at me. "But even though he hasn't asked you that special question yet, you still belong to him. A Winchester woman, heart and soul. A precious jewel guarded by a very special human. How I have longed to taste you…"

He started again for my mouth, and hysteria ripped through me like razors. What was it that Sam and Dean said about vampires? I knew if they bled on an open wound you were doomed to become one. But what if their saliva got into an open wound? Would it have the same effect? Probably. Yes. No? Shit, I couldn't remember! Though I longed to stay brave the fear got the best of me, and as James got closer I let out a strangled scream. The second I did something interesting happened.

Across the room from me Eden suddenly became very conscious. Her head shot up so forcefully I thought for sure she'd get whip lash. But if she felt any pain she didn't show it. I stared at her over the vampire's shoulder, shocked to see how alert she was. I watched as she took in what was going on, and a look of pure fury crossed her pretty features.

Sometimes when she looked at Dean like that he would stagger backwards with his hand over his heart and say, "My God sweetheart, you are _so_ gorgeous when you're mad!" And then with an over done look of astonishment on his face he would hold his hands out to her and say, "Hot damn baby, give me a kiss!"

For some reason this little memory brought a giggle to my lips, and when it escaped it came out as a freaky, hysterical sound. The strangeness of it actually caught James off guard, and he pulled back to look at me.

"You find this amusing, my dear?" he asked mildly. I stared at him for a moment and then looked back at Eden. James turned, following my gaze.

"Ah!" he cried out, clapping his hands and rising to his feet in a movement too fast for my eyes to track. "The wild beauty has awakened! Such luck!" If Eden had been an animal she would have snarled at him. She tried anyway. She was pretty good at it actually, for being a simple human. James laughed, delighted. "You two are going to be such fun to have around!" he declared, looking like a kid who had been told he was going to Disneyland. Another wave of nausea rolled through me, and for a moment I wasn't sure if I was going to cuss or cry. I really wanted to do both. But Eden suddenly spoke, taking my mind off either idea.

"You sick blood sucking dick!" she shrieked as she looked at me. I frowned, confused for a moment. Then she looked back at James. "You hit her!" she shouted at him.

"Well of course I did!" he said cheerfully. "She was being quite naughty you know. I couldn't let her get away with it. What about you my dear?" he asked Eden, his voice suddenly turning silky smooth. "Are you going to be naughty too?" Eden's eyes flew wide and she opened her mouth, and I swear I could feel the blood draining from my face as she told the vampire in horrible detail exactly what he could go do to himself. The suggestion was full of the crudest expressions that probably, aside from Eden, only Dean could think of, and I was glad I couldn't see James's face as the nasty words continued to flow from Eden's mouth. And those words just kept coming.

"Eden stop!" I pleaded with her as James began to glide toward her. She didn't though. Dean had once said that Eden was a lot like a bull dog. Once she got her teeth sunk in it was hard to get her to let go. That was true. I've known her since she was four. She's always been like that.

I shrieked in fear and rage as the vampire got closer to my best friend, who was more like a sister really, ready to punish her for her mouth. Desperate, I took a leaf from Eden's book and began cussing the creature out too, hoping to bring his anger back on me. But I could see that it wasn't going to work, and out of ideas, I threw my head back and started to scream at the top of my lungs. Trust me when I say I have a great set of lungs. I can scream like no one's business. But much like my cussing, my screaming wasn't impressing James. Tired and scared out of my mind, my wordless screams suddenly turned into a name. One name.

Sam.

I screamed his name over and over again, sobbing in a way I hadn't done since I was very little. _Oh God please. If I ever get back to him, I'll never walk away from Sam again. Please...help us. Please…_I continued to scream the name of the man I loved, and I opened my eyes to see that James had reached Eden. He wasn't going to stop. Nothing was going to stop him. And I knew without a doubt he was going to hurt her far worse than he had hurt me.

I squeezed my eyes shut again, and my voice turned pathetic as I continued to scream. "Sam! Sam! Sam! _**SAM**_!" I opened my mouth to let out my loudest and final scream, and in that brief second of silence another sound interrupted. Music, and then words. The Pussy Cat Dolls were crooning away, asking if you wished your girlfriend was hot like me…I gasped. It was my cell phone. I had set that song as my ring tone a long time ago, earning a sneer from Dean and an indulgent smile from Sam. My mouth snapped shut and my eyes flew open again. When they did I saw that James was standing the middle of the room once again, my cell phone in his hand. He was gazing down at it with the oddest look on his dark face. A soft smile graced his lips and that strange fanatic glow was in his eyes again.

"It would appear that you and your beloved Sam have a very deep connection," he said as he glanced over at me. "It seems that he heard you crying out for him, begging him to save you." He held my still singing phone up. "Your hero calls, my lady," he said, and with a flourish he flipped the phone open and pressed it lightly to his ear.

"Sam Winchester!" he exclaimed in the warm tone of an old friend lost until now. "How good to finally hear from you. Considering how important this last call is, I was surprised how long you took to make it. But never mind that. Tell me, are you well? And your brother, how is he?" James fell silent as he listened to the response, and my ears strained to catch the sound of Sam's voice. Of course I could hear nothing, and this devastated me so deeply it almost scared me. I wanted to hear Sam's voice. I _needed_ to hear it. _**Now**_.

But that was not to be, and James smiled at Sam's response to his stupid questions. "Ah Sam. Always the one to get right down to business. Never taking the time for small talk. No wonder you're a wreck. You never relax. I—" Sam must have cut him off sharply, because he suddenly stopped in mid sentence.

"Well of course she's fine," he said as he looked at me, that nasty smile back. "As is Eden. She just woke up actually. But your lady…your darling little Rivan…she's been awake for quite a while now. She's a delight to talk to. So smart. So witty. But I have to say, she's a bit of a smart ass. You might want to see about that when you get her back. I'm afraid I've had to punish her just a little because she just doesn't know when to shut up." My eyes went wide as I suddenly heard Sam's voice over the phone, bellowing at James. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but I knew Sam well enough to guess. I jerked hard against my restraints, earning a rope burn across my wrists.

"Now now darling," James soothed me as he watched my struggle with obvious glee. "Do calm down. I don't want Sam to think I was _too_ rough with you. Sam, please shut up a moment. All I did was merely give your lady a little slap. Something I believe you're seriously considering doing yourself once you get her back, hmm? Though of course, from your voice messages, your target won't be her face." I froze as James chuckled darkly at Sam's reply to that one. "Of course not," he said mildly to Sam. "As I said, she really is fine. Yes you may talk to her, but first…do you have my ring?"

I watched James intently as he listened, and for a moment my eyes darted over to Eden, who was fighting against her own restraints as she too kept her eyes on the vampire. I could tell by the look on her face that her struggles were hurting her, but she wasn't stopping. I sighed quietly and looked back at James, who was standing perfectly still as he listened to whatever Sam was saying. All of a sudden his face lit up and a smile stretched his lips to incredible lengths, and I couldn't help but stare in fascination.

"Excellent!" he cried out, throwing one hand in the air. "Wonderful! Well done Sam. I have to say, after everything I've heard about you and your brother, so far I'm not the least bit disappointed. You're exactly the way they describe. 'They' being demons, other vampires, and several other various creatures of the night that have had the _pleasure_ of crossing paths with the famous Winchester brothers. Quite good indeed. Here you are then. Your lady as I promised." Still smiling like a kid in a candy store, James strode over to me and pressed the phone to my ear. Even before it got there I could hear Sam calling to me. It was the most wonderful thing I had ever heard, and the sheer relief caused me to close my eyes and whimper softly.

"Rivan? _Rivan_?" I could hear Sam calling desperately.

"I'm here," I told him, and to my utter distress I could feel myself begin to fall apart. Before I was doing okay, being brave even though I didn't feel brave, and smarting off to the King of vampires. But now, just hearing Sam on the other end of the phone was turning me into a cry baby.

"Are you okay?" he asked me. His voice was soft, gentle, loving, and scared, along with a slight mixture of rage. I had expected more rage, though I shouldn't have been surprised that it was mostly absent. Knowing Sam, he was keeping his rage in check, intent on focusing all his energies into getting me back.

"Yes I'm fine," I lied, my voice shaking. Damn.

"Are you sure?" Sam demanded, his tone a bit sharper now. "That damn…thing told me he hit you. Did he hit you hard? Are you bleeding? Has he bled on you? Has he bitten you?" He fired one question after another, his voice desperate.

"No Sam, really, I'm okay. Eden is too. She just woke up. He's got us in some room…I have no idea where we are." I heard Sam take a deep breath, and I closed my eyes as my control over my emotions began to slip dangerously. "Sam," I whispered, and then suddenly I gasped out a sob. "I'm so sorry," I told him, trying hard not to break down completely. "I didn't mean to…I didn't want to…" My voice trailed off as I started to cry, hating myself for it. But I just couldn't do anything about it at the moment.

"Don't cry," Sam told me quietly, softly. "Rivan, listen to me. Everything is going to be okay. We're going to get you and Eden out of there. We're on our way now. He just has to tell us where to go. Calm down for me, okay? Can you do that?"

I took a deep, shuddering breath and fought for the control Sam asked of me. "Yeah," I told him, still sounding pretty miserable. "I think so. But Sam…you _can't_ give him that ring. You cannot. I'm not worth it. Think of what he'll do with it. Maybe you can at least get Eden out, but as for me…I'm just not worth all of this, you have to realize that—"

"Rivan!" Sam suddenly interrupted me sharply, causing me to jump in my chair. "Stop it. Just stop. You _are_ worth it, and if I ever hear you say you're not again you're going to have a problem on your hands. You're worth it and more. I told you, time and time again. I can't lose you. I can't. And I'm not going to. So just…please stop. And don't worry about the ring. Dean and I know what we're doing. This is all going to be okay." For several moments I couldn't respond. All I could do was gasp out small sobs.

"Don't cry baby," Sam murmured to me, going all gentle and soft on me again. It melted my heart and made not being with him hurt like hell. Sam doesn't always call me 'baby' but when he does he says it in a way that's so wonderful I can barely stand it. I shivered and had to bite down hard on my bottom lip to keep from sobbing uncontrollably. "I love you Rivan," Sam continued. "And I'm going to get you back. But for now just…don't do anything stupid, please. Don't be a smart ass with this guy. Dean and I have heard about him, and you can't screw around with him. So try to cooperate with him as much as you can. Trust me, I know that's going to be hard for you," he added, and a touch of tired humor drifted into his deep voice. "Cooperation isn't always your big thing, but you really gotta try right now, okay?"

I had to take another deep breath before I could reply, because I was still fighting for that control. "Yeah okay," I told him as several new tears escaped and rolled down my face. "I will. I promise I will. But Sam, I don't want you and Dean to walk in here and get…what if it all goes wrong?"

"It's not going to," Sam said firmly. He started to say something else, and then stopped. I could hear Dean talking, loudly, in the back ground. "I know," Sam muttered to him. "Just—Dean, shut the hell up for a minute, would you? Rivan," Sam said to me, ignoring his brother, who hadn't taken the suggestion of shutting the hell up real well. "Rivan, listen to me. I want you to see if you can—" I never found out what it was he wanted me to see if I could do because James the vampire suddenly jerked the phone away from my ear.

"Hey!" I shrieked as panic shot through me so sharply it hurt. "Give it back, I wasn't done talking to him!"

"Yes you were," James said as he returned to the phone. "Sorry to cut your chat so short, Sam. But we're running out of time here and more importantly, I am running out of patience. Now listen closely because I'm going to tell you how to get to your _baby_."

If I could have thrown something at him I would have, because he had taken the name Sam so sweetly gave to me and made it sound dirty. Damn him. My anger at that faded somewhat as I listened to the address James gave Sam, and I was surprised to find that we were somewhere in New York. Obviously not in the big city, but more so in the country. When the vamps had taken us Eden and I had been somewhere in Ohio. At the moment I couldn't even remember exactly where.

"And that's how you get here," James concluded. "Where are you now? How long will it take you?" He paused and listened. "Ah, you're much closer than I realized. Well then. It seems I won't have the company of your ladies too much longer," he said as he gazed at me. "How sad. Ah well. Perhaps we shall have another wonderful conversation while we wait for you and your brother to arrive. Now now. Don't stress yourself, young Sam. The ladies will be able to walk out of here with you, once I have that ring in my hand." The vampire fell silent as Sam spoke.

"No, I don't think Dean really needs to talk to his lady. She was being quite naughty before you called. Such language she used! Truly, I fully support the idea of punishment for both these beautiful ladies. They are far too nice looking to behave the way they do. You and Dean really do need to correct them. I have an excellent whip I would be happy to give you for the occasion. In fact, I would be happy to help in the taming of these two darling shrews. What a way to spend the next two hours with them!"

James's smile became fangy as Sam began to bellow at him again, and I caught a few of the phrases he threw at the vampire. Moaning quietly, I tilted my head back and closed my eyes as more tears poured down my face.

"Well that was an interesting promise," James was saying in response to whatever Sam had snarled at him. "And you know, I believe you could do it. Yes, you and your brother together could do it. What a thrill to have such worthy opponents! But sadly I have no more time to stand here and listen to your creative ideas. Your ladies have been tied to a bed for almost two weeks, and though I had the pleasure of giving them sponge baths, they could both use a thorough cleaning. And I'm sure they're hungry. We must get them ready to greet you and your brother when you come. Do be careful on the road, and do be sure to guard that ring. See you in two hours!" And with that James closed the phone with a sick, gleeful look on his pale face.

"Two hours ladies," he said to me and Eden as he glided toward the door. "In two hours your men will be here, so we better hurry and get you cleaned up and fed, because I want a little more time with the both of you before it's time to give you up." And without a backward glance the vampire left the room without stirring a breeze, and the door closed quietly behind him. Eden and I were left in the ugly, stark room with only the promise of our men to hold on to.

Over the next two hours there were several times when I wasn't sure it would be enough to get us both through, but despite the pain, fear, and humiliation we experienced during those two hours, we both found that our love for the Winchester boys was great enough to ride it all out.

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, that's it for now! Kind of a bad way to end it, wasn't it? Sorry about that! But anyway, please review if you have a moment! And just to let everyone know, I plan on updating once a month. I know that's a while to wait but it will give me time to get the next chapter ready. Anyway, thanks for reading!**


	4. The Rescue

**Author's Note: After writing my little brains out last weekend and all this past week, I got chapter four done you! I hope everyone likes it and again I must apologize for any mistakes you might find in it. Let me know what you think! Happy reading!**

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><p>Two hours later we stood in an empty field in the dark of the night. The moon above us was full and round, giving off enough light to see what we were doing. Eden was standing on one side of James, and I was on the other side. Three other vampires were a few feet behind us, and as far as I knew that's all that came with James to make the trade. Behind the three vampires was the car we had ridden in, and the headlights were on, adding brightness to the moon lit field.<p>

We all stood there and watched silently as dust flew up in the distance, signaling the approach of a car. Within minutes it came close enough for me to make out the details, and my heart jumped into my throat as I watched the black Impala drive carefully toward us. Obviously the vampires had left it untouched when they took Eden and me from the cabin, and for that I was immensely glad. I hadn't even thought about what had happened to the car until that moment. As the Impala got closer I could make out the driver and the passenger, and it was all I could do to keep from crying out in relief and charging toward what was in my view the best looking car in the history of the world, bearing the best looking men in the history of the world. I shot a quick glance at Eden and saw she was trembling in relief as well.

Of course, the trembling could also be due to the pain and the fatigue I knew she was suffering. I knew what she was going through because I was going through it too. Not long after James had left our room two vampires had come in and quickly untied us. Being tied to a bed for almost two weeks and then being tied to a chair made it a bit difficult to walk right away, so our captors allowed Eden and I to sit on the floor for a while until we gained some feeling back in our limbs and strength enough to use them.

As we had sat there we found needle pricks in our arms, and one of the vampires had informed us that not only had we been drugged but we had been hooked up to an IV while tied to the beds so we could be given nutrients through a tube to keep us alive. I really wasn't surprised because I had already figured they had kept us sedated while they had us tied to beds. But even though the news didn't surprise me didn't mean I took it well. Eden took it much worse though. She had cussed the vampires out and even I had started to, but then I remembered Sam's warning about not doing anything stupid. I had somehow been able to get Eden to shut up and we had sat on the floor for a little while longer until the vampires got bored.

Because we had still been a bit weak, they had carried us out of the room and into a hallway, and I had been surprised to find that we were in what had looked to be a very nice house. We were taken to a huge bathroom that one would expect to find in a five star celebrity hotel and told to take showers. There were clothes there waiting for us, and of course all James had offered us was slutty, short little dresses and high heels with no panty hose. Eden had wanted to throw a fit about it and I had wanted to as well, but I had talked her into just going along with it all in order to keep us safe. She'd reluctantly agreed, and I had let her take the first shower while keeping watch.

After we'd showered and dressed in the horrible clothes, which clung to us like a second skin, we'd been taken to a dining room and offered something to eat. Neither one of us had gotten too excited about the food but we were grateful for the clear, cold water that was at the table, poured in expensive looking crystal goblets. For a while no one bothered us while we drank and nibbled on some of the food, but we hadn't been sitting there for long before the same two vamps came back and took us away. We were led to another room, this one warm and comfortable…except for the manacles hanging on the walls opposite each other. Handcuffs on the walls and below them close to the floor, cuffs for the ankles.

As I stood out in that field in the middle of the night I fought hard to keep what I had eaten earlier from reintroducing itself to the world. I closed my eyes and tried not to move my legs too much, but the pain still made itself known. To make a horribly long story short the two vampires had chained Eden and me to the walls, facing each other, with our arms trapped above our heads in the cruel metal handcuffs, our ankles forced into the cuffs at the bottom. Then James had come in with a whip, probably the very same one he had mentioned to Sam, and had casually whipped us, opening up wounds mainly on our thighs, which were conveniently exposed thanks to the dresses we'd been forced to wear.

The whip had made moderate cuts on our thighs and once on the calf of my leg, and then James had proceeded to use his finger to wipe the blood off and then stick it in his mouth and suck on it with the relish of a child sucking on a lollipop. Eden and I had somehow managed not to cry, because for one thing we didn't want to give this sick creature the pleasure of seeing us break. As far as the pain goes not crying had been somewhat easy, because the lash of the whip had been so sharp that it had not hurt. Not at first. But over time the pain had suddenly grown, making us gasp and twist and writhe. James had enjoyed watching that. He had also later enjoyed feeling us up.

That had almost made me sicker than the whipping. No man had ever put his hands on me, except Sam. Yeah call me a prude but I have never gone real far with a guy. Not even Sam. But he has touched me in a way no man had ever done before, and that had made it sweeter and special because he was the first, and was going to be the only. And then James had gone and touched me in ways Sam never had and never would, being rough, causing pain.

Standing next to the monster man, a horrible shudder rolled through me and for a moment I thought I was going to pass out. Suddenly one of the other vampires that had come along was behind me, holding onto my shoulders.

"Let go!" I snarled at him, tired of being a good girl. "Let go of me, or so help me I'll find a way to cut your dead balls right off!" Next to James Eden tried to stifle a laugh, and while she did James whipped his head around to give his vampire lackey a deadly glare. The vamp cringed and then I was free as he rejoined the other two behind us.

While this had gone on the Impala had stopped several feet in front of us. I watched with eager eyes as Sam and Dean practically flew out of the car, their faces set with looks of fury that made the vampires behind us shift uneasily. I half expected them to come out with their guns pointed at our undead company, but as agreed upon they came out and moved to stand in front of the car, their hands free of weapons and held out and up, level with their heads.

If James had not been smart the shit would have hit the fan then, because the wounds on my legs and Eden's would have been noticeable, bleeding through our jeans. But James had been smart, and had also proven he was more powerful than any other vampire known to hunters.

Right before we had driven out to the field James had set us free of the chains, and then had run his hands over our wounds. To our astonishment the bleeding had stopped. The wounds had not healed, but there was no blood loss, and James had said there would be no more until we'd gotten far enough away from him. Once we had, the spell would be broken and the blood would flow again. James had expressed sadness in missing that. Afterwards we had been taken back to the bathroom, and, rather out of the blue, got our cell phones back. I hadn't given them another thought since James had used mine in that little room. I certainly never thought we'd get them back. But we did, and as Eden and I had taken them I'd made a mental note to have Sam check them out and make sure they were okay. We wouldn't want any evil surprises to pop up on us later.

But anyway once we had our cell phones back, we'd been allowed to wipe ourselves off and had been given another set of clothes to change into. That time it was simple jeans and shirts, and Eden and I had dreaded pulling the jeans up over our whip marks. But still fascinated over the loss of blood flow, we had tested our marks out by pressing and prodding at them. No new blood had oozed out of the wounds but the pain was still there. Oh, was it ever there! Getting the jeans on had been as terrible as we feared, and when we were done we really expected to see blood stains on the jeans but to our surprise there was none. Sam and Dean would not know we were injured until we were well away from James. Like I said, smart, to some degree, and more powerful than I had feared.

So there we stood in the middle of that field, still far from the safety of Sam and Dean, standing with a vampire waiting to be given a ring that would allow him to control every human being on the planet if he so chose to. And of course he would. He'd talked of his plans about that while he'd been whipping me and Eden. At one point I managed to ask him why he was even bothering letting us go if he was getting the ring. He had replied that he had to first cast an age old spell on the ring to make it work the way it promised to, and since he was such a nice guy he was going to let us have some time with our men before he came for us again. Besides, he had added right before he had brought the whip down across my skin again, he enjoyed hunting the Winchester boys and their women. It was a challenge, and he loved a challenge.

Silence overtook the field as we all stared at each other. I kept my eyes glued to Sam, and Eden kept her eyes glued to Dean. They had already scanned us quickly with keen eyes, and once they'd been satisfied, more or less, with what they saw for the moment, they both focused their attention entirely on the vampires.

"Alright you son of a bitch!" Dean called in that good old Dean fashion. "We're here, and we've got your damn ring." Suddenly I could see something in his left hand, and he held my ring, given to me by my mother, up for James to see. I watched with growing dread as the moon light reflected on the pale green stone set in the silver band. Even from here I could see the blue fire the beautiful stone held, and the moon seemed to be bringing it out even more. I closed my eyes and took in a shuddering breath, fighting the urge to scream at Sam and Dean not to do this.

Meanwhile James was peering at the ring, and I knew his vampire enhanced eyes could see it well. He studied it for a moment and then smiled calmly. "Very good boys," he told them, his voice carrying easily over the field. "Very good indeed. Let us not waste any time here, hmm? Here's how it's going to be. Sam will bring me the ring, and as he's walking, the ladies will be walking toward you, Dean. Fair enough?"

Silence met his words, and I could see Dean glance over at Sam. But Sam had his eyes pinned on James, and he was the one that answered. "Fine," he told the vampire, and his deep voice was clear and cool, and menacing. It wasn't very often that I heard Sam talk like that, but when he did he sure did get everyone's attention. Even Dean's.

"Excellent," James nearly purred. "Very well then, I'll let the ladies start. I bid you fare well," he said to me and Eden, smiling as though we had attended a grand party with him and had all had a great time. "You are both beautiful and wild, fitting for two men such as the Winchesters. I would advise you though, to pay a bit more attention to their lead from now on. You both risk yourselves in ways that are not necessary. It would be a sad thing indeed to lose such gorgeous creatures." He smiled what he probably thought was a winning, stunning smile. In reality it made bloody vomit look more appealing.

And apparently that smile was the last thing Eden could handle, because she suddenly snapped. "You can go to hell, you stupid piece of shit maggot!" she shrieked at him, and before James could reply, if he had planned to, Eden began to walk toward Dean. She moved slowly and carefully, though I don't know if that was because she was scared or because she was hurting. Probably a bit of both.

But she had only taken a few steps before everyone realized something was wrong. I had not moved. Sam, who had taken the ring from Dean and had started forward as well, stopped and looked at me, his face full of confusion and suspicion.

"Wait!" James boomed out to Eden.

She jumped and whirled to look at me. Her pretty eyes, the color of a deep summer sky, went wide when she saw that I had not moved an inch. "What are you doing?" she hissed at me. "Come _on_!"

I met her eyes and shook my head. "No," I told her, speaking loud enough so everyone could hear me. "I'm staying here until Sam comes, and then I'm walking back with him. There's no way I'm going to let him come over here alone with all these vampires." Everyone was silent for about half a second, and then two voices protested loudly. Eden actually swore at me, and I shot her a hurt look while Dean yelled at me to move my ass _now_. Beside me James laughed softly at the turn of these events, and for a moment that's all I heard until Sam suddenly made everyone but the vampires jump about a mile high.

"_**Everyone shut up**_!" he bellowed, his voice echoing around the field. Dean stared at him in shock, as did Eden. He ignored them and looked at me, and I could see the fury clearly in his eyes. His whole body radiated it actually, and I swallowed hard. Boy, did I ever know how to step in it up to my eyeballs. "Rivan!" Sam called to me, and I had never heard him sound so mad or so stern when talking to me. "When Eden starts moving again you better get your ass moving too. You need to get out of there, and you need to do it now. Don't you _dare_ stand there and wait for me. Because if you do so help me, I'll rip you a new one as soon as we're far enough away from here."

Okay, call me plain stupid and crazy, but for some reason his words and promise just made me mad. I couldn't believe that he wanted me to walk away and let him face four vampires on his own, and one of them being the King of vampires, who happened to have quite an interest in Sam! Stupid man.

"Screw you Sam!" I yelled at him with a defiant toss of my hair. "I'm not going anywhere until you're standing next to me. When that happens, we'll walk away together. And if you don't like it, well then that's just tough shit! I know James made you promise to leave your charm behind, and you'll be completely unprotected over here! I'm staying here, so you can just kiss my ass!"

Even from this distance I could see Sam's jaw clench and then twitch in rage. Uh-oh. When Sam's jaw clenched like that _and_ twitched, it was a real bad sign. "I can promise you once we're out of here the last thing I'm going to do to your ass is kiss it!" he bellowed at me. "Now do as I say and move damn it! This isn't a game, Rivan!"

"You see?" James suddenly murmured so only I could hear. "It's as I said. Risking your life so stupidly. And for what reason? To prove you can? Stupid woman. Obey your man and move."

"No," I said, my tone flat and final. "I'm staying here until Sam gets here." And though it hurt to move I tossed my head back again and held it high, clenching my fists in a sign of pure stubbornness. James laughed softly, Dean and Eden swore loudly and Sam remained quiet, his cold fury surrounding him and touching me through his hard gaze. There was no doubt about it. I was going to pay a big price for doing this if we all got out of here alive. And that would be on top of the other big price I was going to pay for running away from Sam to begin with. Didn't I say I knew how to step in it up to my eyeballs?

"Very well," James called. "The lady Rivan stays here with me and waits for her man, while dear Eden goes to hers." For a moment nothing happened, and he looked at Eden. "Go," he snapped. "Now!" She flinched and then for a moment I thought she was going to refuse, but Dean changed her mind real fast.

"Eden!" he roared. "Don't you go stupid on me and pull the same crap as Rivan! I will bust your ass, sweetheart! Guaranteed!" Eden's blue eyes flew wide, and after I nodded at her I watched as she turned slowly back around and started toward Dean again. Sam started forward again too, and the next few minutes were the longest ones I'd ever been through.

Finally though Eden reached Dean, running the last few steps and throwing herself in his arms. He wrapped them tightly around her and pulled her close, half turning so she was more so facing the Impala, shielding her with his body. I relaxed almost completely at the sight of my friend far from the vampires and with Dean, who would die to protect her. But nothing would be absolutely okay until Sam got here and I could be in his arms, even if he was pissed at me.

My eyes moved back to him and I found he was a lot closer than I thought. My body twitched, wanting to run to him as Eden had run to Dean. But James stopped me. "Not yet my dear," he said calmly. "I want him just a little closer…"

I looked up at him sharply, my heart suddenly trying to beat its way out of my chest. "Don't you dare hurt him," I told him, my tone low and so furious I even surprised myself. "Don't you do anything to him!"

The vampire looked down at me with an amused smile. "Of course not. I told you. I can be very kind. I am allowing you and Eden some time with your men before I come for you again. I just want to see him up close. I've heard so much about him. He is so special in our world, feared and respected almost…a hunter unlike any other…" His eyes drifted away from me and back to Sam, who was now standing right in front of us. I kept my eyes on his face, a face I had grown to know so well. So handsome, so tall, so strong, was my Sam. So determined to do what was right and protect those that he loved. He stood there with my mother's ring in his hand, his eyes meeting and holding James's without flinching.

The vampire smiled at him and studied him for a moment. "Sam Winchester," he murmured. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you face to face. I am honored indeed."

Sam didn't blink, didn't twitch, barely even seemed to breathe. "Go to hell," he said calmly and clearly.

James's smile widened. "I think not. I would much rather stay here and have human slaves than be down there and become a tortured slave myself. Well now, since we can't seem to have a nice chat, how about you just hand over that ring, and I'll let you walk away with this wild beauty of yours." Still grinning, he reached out and put an arm around my shoulders. Sam watched with cold calculating eyes, which met mine briefly, and then without a word he held the ring out to James.

I got a good look at it as the vampire took it. It certainly looked just like my ring. I watched in disbelief as James tucked it away in his jacket pocket, and then he let me go, giving me a slight push in Sam's direction. "Go," he said. "Enjoy your last free days with him. Hopefully you won't have to spend it all being punished, but judging by the look on his face I don't think you'll get that lucky."

I kept my mouth shut, though it was hard, and I walked the last few steps that separated me from Sam. As soon as I could I threw myself into his arms as Eden had done with Dean, and Sam's strong arms locked around me for a moment, and then he was moving me along as fast as he could, away from the vampires. He pushed me ahead of him, keeping his hand on the small of my back as he constantly glanced behind him, keeping the blood sucking creatures in view. We moved faster than my legs wanted to, and the pain was enough to bring tears to my eyes. I kept quiet though, and soon we were there with Eden and Dean. Eden moved out from behind him and jerked me to her and hugged me, but only for a second. We were pulled apart and Dean rushed Eden to the driver's side of the car, opening the back door for her while Sam hurried me over to the other side and jerked the door open for me. We both got in at the same time and the doors were slammed shut behind us.

Cold and shaking, we sat there as shock kicked in while Sam and Dean climbed into the car. Dean gunned the engine and put it in reverse. All the while the vampires stood there and watched. Finally Dean got the Impala turned and he floored it, causing the car to shoot out onto a gravel road I had missed until now. We tore down the road, and I turned around to take one last look.

The vampires were gone, along with their car. A dark cloud slipped across the moon, stealing the light it had lent us for our rescue. The dark, eerie scene sent a chill down my spine, and I turned around as Dean guided the car onto a main highway. No one said anything as the Impala sped through the night, taking us far away from the horrors of the vampire world.

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><p><strong>AN: Well there's your chapter four! Hope everyone liked it. It has a cliffhanger too, but not as bad as chapter three. Or at least I don't think it's as bad. I'll be updating again as soon as I can. Not sure when that will be I'm afraid. My life seems to get more busy every day! No worries though! Chapter five will be coming your way soon enough! Again I'd like to thank everyone for reading, and thank you to those that review!**


	5. Don't Let Me Go

**Author's Note: Hello again everyone. Sorry I haven't updated sooner! But here's chapter five for you. I know it's very short, so to make up for that I am also going to post chapter six. But not right now. I'm going out soon and need to go get ready. But I promise chapter six will be up sometime later today. Probably more so in the evening. I want to say thank you once more to those that read and reviewed my last chapter. As always I love to hear from you all! I hope you all like this chapter, as short as it is. Like always I want to apologize for any mistakes you might find in it. Well can't think of much else to say, so I shall say no more and let you read! Enjoy!**

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><p>A new round of terror started not long after that. I sat there staring straight ahead as the Impala tore down the road, and Sam turned around in his seat to look at me. "Are you all right?" he asked me, his sharp eyes searching my face, ready to spot any lie.<p>

"I'm fine," I whispered, staring back at him. God…I felt awful. I knew Sam could tell, and he started to say something but then Dean spoke up.

"How about you Eden?" I heard him say. "You doin' okay sweetheart?"

"Just peachy," she muttered, and I glanced over at her. She looked about as bad as I felt. I looked back at Sam to find that he was staring at his brother, and I could tell they were having one of their "mind" conversations that they liked to have, where they didn't have to say a word to each other but both knew what the other was thinking.

While that was going on I slumped against the back of the seat and closed my eyes. I had them closed for about two seconds before a terrible pain suddenly seared through my legs, and then I felt something warm and wet. My eyes flew open and I watched in horror as blood suddenly began to blossom on my jeans, right where the whip had torn open the flesh. I looked over at Eden and saw blood on her jeans too, and then looked up to meet her eyes, which were wide, dark orbs set in a pale white face.

Suddenly the world began to spin and a moan escaped my lips. "Sam!" I half wailed as my head dropped back against the seat.

"Rivan, what—WHAT THE HELL? Dean, stop the car, they're bleeding!" After that, for a while all I could make sense of was Sam and Dean's voices, to some degree anyway. My vision had failed me and my stomach threatened to rebel as I sat there and listened to them.

"What the freaking hell? Why are they bleeding? What did that sick son of a bitch do to them?"

"I don't know Dean, just pull over!" That must have happened at some point, because suddenly Sam and Dean were in the back seat with us, trying to figure out what was going on. Eden and I must have looked bad, because they both sounded scared.

"DAMNIT! Are they turning? Do you see blood anywhere else? What did he do, bite their LEGS? Why didn't we see the blood before now?" Dean swore a blue streak and I could feel Sam's hands on me, desperately searching for other wounds and trying to figure out the ones on my legs.

I tried to push at his hands and then tried to talk, but I had problems doing both. "Not turned," I finally managed to gasp out as I felt Sam's hand at the back of my neck. "Didn't bleed on us…he didn't…bite."

"What did he do then?" Dean demanded harshly, almost sounding half crazy.

"Dean!" Sam snapped at him. "Calm down. Rivan, what did he do? Tell us, baby." I opened my mouth to do just that, but I couldn't get any words out. I was going to be sick…

"Whipped," I heard Eden mutter from somewhere to my left.

"What?" Dean snarled. "What? Whipped? He…_whipped_ you? Like…with an actual _whip_?"

"Bingo Sherlock," she said, and if I had been able to I would have laughed. Dean swore again, loudly and with great feeling, and I was glad I hadn't laughed, though I got the idea that he was swearing at the fact that James had hurt us and not at Eden's smart reply.

After that my vision suddenly cleared and I could see Dean leaning in through the door, staring at Eden with a half amused, half exasperated look on his face. "Well she can't be too bad off," he said to Sam, sounding a bit calmer. "She's got enough strength in her to be a smart ass."

"I can see that," Sam said, and I moved my head around to see that he too was leaning in the car, crouched beside me.

"It's not as bad as it looks," I managed, longing to reach up and stroke his face, but my hands weren't working real well at the moment. "It was just a few lashes. He…he put a spell on them…so they wouldn't bleed. He didn't want you and Dean to see the blood when you came to get us. Not until later. Said it would break when we got far enough away from him. Guess we're far enough away now, huh?" I knew I wasn't making any sense, and Sam confirmed this by giving me the world's most confused look.

"Wait, what? He put a _spell_ on your cuts to stop the bleeding?" he asked carefully, disbelief dripping from every word.

"Yes," I said, trying to sound firm. "I know it sounds crazy but it's true. Sam…he's so powerful…more powerful than you can imagine. And now he has the ring…" I managed to get my hand moving at that point, and I slapped it over my eyes. The moon that had given us so much light for our rescue was visible again, only now it seemed brighter than before, so bright it bothered my eyes. With my hand blocking out most of the light, I let out a choked sob as an awful pain pounded its way up one leg and then the other. At that moment the pain and the knowledge that James had the ring was becoming way too much to bear.

"Ssh, ssh," Sam soothed gently. "He doesn't have the ring. He has _a_ ring, but he doesn't have _the_ ring."

My hand dropped from my eyes to land with a soft thud on the car seat. "What do you mean?"

"To make a long story short we know someone who makes jewelry, and we got him to make a replica of your mother's ring. This guy that made it…he's real good at what he does. He got every detail down just fine, including the initials that are engraved on the inside of the band. J&L. You never told me what that stood for," he added, looking at me.

I shook my head as I felt my body relax a little. James didn't have the real ring. Thank God. "My mother never told me what it meant," I muttered in response to Sam's questioning look.

"Well it doesn't matter anyway," Sam said after a moment. "As long as it fooled James, that's all that matters. And it seemed to, so we're good for now."

I nodded. Or at least I thought I did. Couldn't be real sure. "Where's the real ring?" I asked, trying hard to keep my eyes open and focused on him.

"I have it," Sam assured me. "It's safe. No more talking now," he added sharply when my mouth flew open. "It's wearing you out, and we need to get you somewhere and get a look at what he did to you."

"I'm moving Eden up front with me," Dean suddenly said, and I looked over in time to see him carefully scoop her up in his arms.

"Good, I can stay back here with Rivan," Sam said, and I started to scoot over but he stopped me. "No, you don't have to move. I'll go on the other side. Just stay put." I did and soon he was sitting on the other side of me. Feeling a bit better than I had just a few minutes ago, I leaned against him, propping my head on his shoulder. Dean had gotten Eden arranged comfortably in the front seat, and I could see he'd allowed her to sit right next to him so she could rest her head on his shoulder. He started up the car and guided it back onto the road, and I could hear him murmuring softly to Eden as he drove carefully through the night.

"Where are we going?" I asked Sam, my voice slightly slurred.

"To the nearest hotel," he told me as his slid his arm around my shoulders, drawing me closer. I cuddled against him, breathing in his familiar scent, which was a combination of spice and musk with a touch of outdoors, finished off with just pure Sam. It was the best thing I'd ever smelled, and the feel of him was the best thing I'd ever touched.

"How're you feeling now?" he asked me quietly, running his hand up and down my arm gently.

"Better," I muttered as I felt the blackness creep up on me. "Still hurts…though. You smell good," I suddenly said out of the blue, and Sam laughed a kind of choked, strained laugh. A tired sound mixed with fear and anxiety, and weary humor at my ability to say such an odd thing at a time like this. "Please don't let me go," I added as I cuddled as close to him as humanly possible.

He was silent for just a few moments. "No," he said softly, and I felt him brush his lips against my temple. "I won't. Not ever."

I took a deep, quiet breath, and oddly enough I felt very content in that moment. "Good," I said simply, and the lights went out.

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, that's it for now! Like I said, painfully short, but I promise chapter six will be much longer! I do hope everyone is still enjoying the story. I worry that I'm not writing as well as before. Anyway, thanks for reading and please leave a review if you have a moment! Thanks so much! :-)**


	6. You, Me and the Angel Makes Three

**Author's Note: Okay everyone, here it is like I promised! Thank you for the reviews on chapter five, I'm glad you all liked it. Again I'm sorry for how short it was, and I'm sorry for the filler type feel it had to it. This chapter should be more satisfying. At least I hope it is. Anyway I want to say a great big thank you to all those that have said how very much they're enjoying this story. It means a lot to me! More than you can imagine. Once more please forgive any mistakes you might come across while reading. I really hope you all like this one because I'm more nervous about this chapter. I don't know why. Anyway, enjoy! **

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><p>With a deep, tired sigh Sam leaned back in his chair, and I watched as he rested his chin on his hand. He kept his eyes on my legs, which were now free of the tight jeans, thanks to his help. My own eyes wandered down to the whip marks on my legs, and then I had to look away.<p>

Sam had cleaned them and had gotten the bleeding to stop, and now I could see the real damage. I had a total of five lashes, two on each thigh, and one on the calf of my right leg. The wounds were split open wide, and the sight of them made me nauseated. Determined not to look at them again I cast my eyes all around me, though there was nothing interesting to see.

Dean had found us a hotel about a half hour after our rescue, and he got two rooms, side by side. Sam had taken me into one and Dean had taken Eden into the other, which had made me and Eden nervous. We didn't like to be away from each other, especially after what we had just been through together. I squirmed on my own seat, which was nothing but a hard toilet lid. Sam had carried me straight to the bathroom, closed the toilet lid and carefully placed me on it. Then he had drug one of the hotel chairs into the bathroom, put it directly in front of me, and sat down to study the situation.

He had thought about cutting my jeans off but he had no scissors, and using a knife wouldn't have worked too well. So after helping me up, he very carefully and very slowly helped me pull my jeans off, which had hurt like hell, and then after gathering everything he needed, had set to work cleaning my wounds. Though he had only used a wash cloth and cold water, it had hurt badly, though he had tried so hard to be as gentle as he could be. In turn I had tried not to cry too much, not wanting to make him feel bad. But despite my good intentions I had cried some, and Sam had talked softly to me as he worked, trying to distract me as best as he could.

When he'd finished he'd gotten a clean wash cloth and ran it under cold water, and tenderly used it to wipe my face off. Then came a glass of water, and he'd had to help me hold the glass while I took a few sips. Now though it was all over, for the moment, and exhausted and in pain, I slumped against the back of the toilet and watched Sam. Every once in a while I shivered, and once I did it so violently I almost toppled off the toilet. Sam caught me by the shoulders, keeping me steady.

"Easy," he soothed as one hand reached up to stroke my hair. "Just try to take it easy. I've got you. You're safe now. Everything's going to be okay." Taking a deep, quiet breath, I looked up at him, directly into his dark, hazel eyes.

Often I had thought of Sam as having old eyes. Eyes that had seen and done too much, experienced too much pain. And he had. At twenty-six years old he had been through so much, more than one person should ever have to go through. Dean was the same. The brothers had been through terrible things, had been forced to do unspeakable things, but they had survived. As a result they were strong, tough, hard, and resourceful. They were damaged survivors, but thank God they still had enough left in them to know how to love, and how to care. Even the worst creatures in the world had not been able to destroy the spirits of the Winchester boys.

But as Sam sat there and gazed back at me I could see something else in his eyes. A strange look, almost like devastation mixed with a soul-deep tiredness, along with a different, new, and stronger look of unwavering determination. This look of his caused my heart to suddenly pound fast and hard, and I knew at that moment I couldn't handle exploring the reasons behind this look. Because deep down I already knew what had caused it. My flight from him, and the fact that it had very nearly been the death of me.

Suddenly I wanted nothing more than to get back to situation of my torn up legs. I looked down at the wounds again and then back at him, my eyes full of fear and questions.

"They're really not as bad as they look," Sam assured me as he went back to studying them too. "Trust me, I've seen worse. But…they're going to need stitches. All of them," he added, and looked up at me. I flinched but kept my eyes locked on his, waiting. "I have something that will numb the pain," he continued. "But not all the way. It's still going to hurt."

I blinked. "You mean…_you're_ going to…stitch them up?" I asked, my voice tiny and full of shock.

"I've stitched wounds before," he told me gently as he reached out to take my hand. "I'm pretty good at it."

"What about Eden?" I asked, my mind whirling with fear and exhaustion.

"Dean knows how to stitch wounds too," he replied softly, letting go of my hand and reaching up to stroke my cheek. "She'll be okay."

"Can't we go to a hospital?" I asked as my panic increased.

"How would we explain this?" he asked me, waving a hand at the whip marks. "What would we tell them?"

"I don't know," I said, trying to get my head straight and clear. It wasn't working real well. "An animal attack?"

"The wounds are too clean and neat for that," Sam told me. "And there aren't enough for that to make sense. James didn't have enough time with you to make more than this, thank God, and an animal attack would look messier," he added, and I shuddered. "I'm sorry Rivan, but I'm going to have to do it."

I stared at him, but before I could say anything we heard footsteps, and then Dean called out. "Sam?" Seconds later he appeared at the bathroom door looking tired, his eyes dark and his jaw clenched. He looked at me and then at my legs and back to Sam, who gazed back without saying a word. Together the two brothers were giving off a feeling of rage so thick I could taste it.

"That son of a bitch told us he wouldn't lay a finger on them," Dean growled out, his eyes flaring. "And look at what he went and did to them."

"I know," Sam said quietly, and his tone was so intense I shivered again.

Dean stood there for a moment and then took a deep, slow breath. "You know he has to die, Sammy," he told his brother. "You know we have to go after him."

"I know," Sam repeated. "But right now we have to handle this before we can make plans for that." Dean nodded, and I took the moment of silence to ask what I had wanted to since he'd appeared at the door.

"Where's Eden?" I asked him sharply.

"In the bathroom," he told me after shooting me a quick look before bringing his eyes back to Sam.

"How do her wounds look?" Sam asked before I could speak again.

"Like hell," Dean said, his tone flat.

"Stitches?" Sam asked quietly.

"Yep," Dean answered, his tone turning harsher. "All five of them."

"Same here," Sam said as he patted the calf of my left leg, which was clear of wounds.

"You know, it would be great if that…" Dean paused as he struggled with a fit of rage. "If that damn, so called Angel would _answer our friggin' prayers_, the way he's supposed!" Finally losing his temper, he snarled out the last few words.

I blinked in confusion. "What Angel?" I asked. "You mean Castiel?"

"Yeah," Sam told me, because Dean seemed too mad to talk at the moment. "We've been asking for help since…since you and Eden left, but we got nothing."

"Oh," I said, leaning back. In the past two years of traveling with Sam and Dean I had yet to meet this Castiel, or Cas as they call him, but I had heard a lot about him. The brothers trusted him and thought highly of him, so his refusal to answer when they called must have hurt.

"Whatever," Dean snapped. "It's typical. When you really need them, they're never there. I'm going back to take care of Eden. If you need anything, yell." He started to turn to leave, but came to an abrupt halt. "Eden!" he half shouted, causing me to jump. "What the hell do you think you're doing? I told you to stay put!"

"I wanted to check on Rivan!" I heard Eden protest in what was clearly a tearful voice. That shocked me and told me how bad off she must be, because she didn't make a habit of sounding like that.

Dean knew that, and when he spoke again his voice was softer. "She's fine, okay? Sam's got her. He'll take care of her. But she's not the only one that needs to be taken care of, so let's go back to the bathroom."

"I want to see her," Eden said, now sounding more like her stubborn self. Before Dean could protest Eden had pushed forward and was peering around the door jamb at me. She'd been crying as I thought, and a few stray tears were still trickling down her face.

"Hey," I said, trying to give her my best smile, which lasted about a half second before failing.

"Hey," she said back. "Are you okay?"

"Sure," I told her. "Sam's a great doctor," I added, reaching out to place my hand on his forearm. Before he had started cleaning my wounds he had rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, and under my hand I could feel the hard muscles rolling and tensing in response to what was going on. I patted his arm and then looked back at Eden. "How are you doing?"

"Okay," she said, and started to say something else, but Dean cut her off.

"Okay great, she's doing fine, you're doing fine. Enough talk. You're losing color Eden. You shouldn't have gotten up. Come on, back to the bathroom. _Now_."

"You don't have to be so bossy!" Eden whined as Dean caught her hand and led her off.

"Oh trust me sweetheart," I heard him say. "You haven't seen bossy yet." Eden replied to that in a high pitched, irritated tone, but I couldn't make out the words, and soon her voice faded away as she and Dean went back into their room.

I wanted to laugh at their bickering but all I had the strength for was another weak smile. I looked back at Sam, who was watching me with thoughtful eyes. "So doc," I said to break the silence. "When are you going to operate?"

Sam sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "Right now," he told me as he stood up. "I need to go get a few things. Do not get up while I'm gone," he added, and his voice hardened as he turned stern eyes on me. "I mean it Rivan. Just keep your pretty little ass right where it is. Got it?"

I wrinkled my nose at him. And Eden thought Dean was bossy! Geez. "Yes sir," I muttered sarcastically, too tired to argue with him over it. Then I looked up at him and caught an agonized look in his eyes, and took a guess at what was causing it. "I'm sorry you have to do this," I told him, my voice soft and hesitant.

"Yeah," he said, confirming that I'd guessed correctly. "Me too. I'm sorrier than you can imagine." He took a deep breath and propped his hands on his hips. "I wouldn't mind some help right about now," he added, more to himself than to me, I thought.

Okay, I can't even begin to describe this, but less than a half second after Sam said that there was suddenly a man standing in the bathroom with us. He was a lot shorter than Sam, which isn't hard, with short, dark wavy hair, dark eyes, and an intense look on what was a handsome face. And he had a trench coat on. I jumped about a mile at his sudden appearance, but Sam didn't even twitch.

"It's okay," he told me calmly. "He's a friend." Sam paused. "Most of the time."

I blinked at Sam, and then looked at our visitor, who looked back at me with eyes so sharp it seemed he could cut a person in two with his gaze alone. And in that instant I knew who he must be. "Castiel?" I asked, eyeing him curiously.

"Yes," he said, and his voice was deep and rough, and his eyes never wavered as he watched me. Wow. Here I was having my first meeting with an Angel, sitting in a hotel bathroom with no pants on and my legs torn and bleeding. Who else could claim that kind of experience?

"Cas," Sam said, and the Angel looked back at him, his face impassive. "Where have you been, man? Dean and I needed you a long time ago."

"I know," Cas replied, not sounding concerned. I stared at him. He was not what I thought an Angel would be like. "But I'm here now, and you still need me."

Sam's mouth flew wide open, and then suddenly he pressed his lips together, turning them into a thin line. "Well that's true," he said, grinding the words out between clenched teeth. "But if you had come sooner we could have avoided all of this," he told the Angel, waving a hand at my bloody legs.

Cas glanced at the lashes on my legs, his face still expressionless. "Perhaps," he allowed. "But sometimes certain events must happen for a reason. You of all people should know that."

Sam's eyes flared, and for a horrifying moment I thought he was going to lunge at the Angel. "Why would _that_ need to happen?" he demanded, stabbing a finger in the direction of my legs.

"For many reasons," Cas said simply, staring at Sam.

"Which you're not going to share with me, right?" Sam snapped at him, and the Angel tilted his head slightly, his eyes never leaving Sam's face. "Right," Sam muttered with a heavy sigh. "Okay fine, so you're here now. Are you going to help her?"

"Eden," I said before Cas could say anything. "He has to help Eden too!"

"I have come here to help them both," Cas said, ignoring me. Well! Whoever thought Angels could be rude? "God has sent me to heal their wounds," Cas the rude Angel continued.

"Both the physical and mental ones?" Sam asked sharply, and the Angel frowned intensely at him. "Their memories," Sam clarified. "Cas…what they went through was terrible." I looked away quickly. While Sam had cleaned my wounds I had told him what had happened while James had Eden and me. I had left some stuff out, but I had told him enough, focusing on what I thought was most important. Like the whole thing about James saying he had to first cast some kind of spell on the ring to make it work. Otherwise, I had left a lot of my suffering out.

"Yes. I know it was," Cas said in response, still frowning.

Sam sighed. "You can erase all of that," he told him. "You can take those memories away." Cas blinked suddenly, and then looked away. "Come on Cas," Sam said, lowering his voice, though not enough to where I couldn't hear. "Please…please do this for her. For me. Make her forget. I don't want her to carry those memories around for the rest of her life. They're already destroying her."

Well, I thought I had been hiding that pretty well. But I should have known better. Sam could see things most people couldn't, and he'd always been able to see right through me. I looked down at the ugly bathroom floor as tears filled my eyes. The idea of Cas completely removing those memories forever was scary, yet wonderful at the same time. But the stupid part of me was a bit annoyed at the fact that no one was asking me what I thought about all of this. It was my head they were talking about messing with after all.

Cas was quiet for a few more moments, and then he looked at Sam. "I can heal all of her wounds," he told him. "And I can reduce her memories. But I cannot take them completely away."

Sam made a face at him. "Why not?"

"Because God does not wish me to," Cas told him calmly. "What she and her friend did was very…stupid," he finished, his eyes coming to rest on me, causing me to squirm. "Their actions nearly led them to their deaths, and put you and Dean in danger." I flinched as though he had hit me, but he kept going. "God wants them to remember what happened to them, to some degree, so they will learn and not do it again."

Okay, that caused my temper to shoot straight up through the roof. "What the hell are you talking about?" I half shrieked at the Angel, and Sam's eyes went wide. "Are you listening to yourself? What kind of God do you serve? If he didn't want us to run off, why didn't he do something about it before we made our move? If he knew what was going to happen to us, why didn't he save us?"

Cas' eyes suddenly went cold, and he took a step toward me. "God wishes to give human kind the right, the freedom, to make their own choices. It is his way of testing them, to see if they are worthy and to see if they will make the right decisions. You and Eden did not make the right decision. You shouldn't have left Sam and Dean. You were not capable of protecting yourselves. God sent you and Eden to the Winchesters so they could protect you. He wanted you with them. You and Eden are very important to God. He has plans for the both of you. You cannot die, and though He is always with you, there are times when God needs help protecting His children. That is one of the reasons why He gave you to Sam, and Eden to Dean. He made you and Eden for the Winchesters, and with them you must always stay."

A long, deep, intense silence followed this speech. Sam stood there and stared at Castiel, his eyes wide and his mouth opened slightly in shock and confusion. My stare mimicked his. Then finally I found my voice again. "Okay, that doesn't completely answer my question," I told him, narrowing my eyes. "And what do you mean he has plans for us? What kind of plans?"

"It doesn't matter right now," Castiel said as he started toward me. Sam moved as though to block him, and the Angel stopped. "I will not harm her," he told Sam, swinging his intense stare around to match Sam's own sharp look. "I will heal her, and numb her memories."

"Okay, but what does that mean exactly?" Sam demanded.

"She will keep the memories…but they will be like old memories. Ones that do not always haunt her, and make living constantly painful. But ones that will still remain and…remind her of things when she needs to be reminded. It will be the same for Eden."

"Yeah about that!" I spoke up, and I got the full force of Castiel's glare again. I tried to ignore it. "Dean has her in the other bathroom and while we've been sitting here chatting he's probably got her stitched up already. She's gone through the pain for nothing!"

"She has not," Cas assured me. "Dean has done nothing. Right now they're both on…" he stopped and seemed to think for a moment, as though searching for a way to best explain it. "Pause," he finally finished.

"They're on pause?" I repeated with my own frown. "Like how you pause a movie?"

"Yes," Castiel said slowly. "I believe that is the best way to describe it to you. I know very little about _movies_ but…yes, they are on pause." A sudden image of Dean and Eden in the bathroom frozen in place entered my mind, and I had an urge to laugh but managed not to.

"Okay fine," I said. Behind Castiel Sam shifted impatiently, and I figured I knew why. My legs had started bleeding again, and Sam wanted the Angel to get on with the healing. But I wasn't satisfied yet. "Why did you do that?"

"Because I wanted to talk to you and Sam first, without Dean interrupting," Cas told me. "Now be quiet and hold still. I have much to do and I can't linger any longer than necessary." He moved suddenly and I didn't have time to flinch away as he placed two fingers right in the middle of my forehead. A white light filled the room for a brief second, and then it was gone before I could better register its appearance. Cas stepped back, and suddenly I felt very different. I felt very good, to be exact. The pain was completely gone from my legs, and when I looked down all I saw was smooth, perfect skin. The ugly wounds were gone. There were no signs of the horrors I had gone through less than two hours ago. No blood, no redness, no tenderness, no scars. It was as though James's cruel whip had never marred my skin.

And as far as my mind went…it felt almost peaceful. The pain of the raw, fresh memories that had tormented me only seconds ago were gone. But the actual memories still lingered in my mind, and every once in a while they would give a dull throb like a wound longed healed, but with a scar left behind. A scar that still mysteriously ached every now and then. It was not idea, but it was certainly bearable. It would, as Cas had said, remind me every now and then of my foolish actions. I stared up at Cas in awe, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you," I said simply, though with the deepest sincerity.

"You should thank God," Cas told me, his voice lacking emotion. It didn't bother me this time. "But…you're welcome," he added, and for a moment I thought I saw the corners of his mouth lift ever so slightly.

Unable to stand still any longer, Sam moved around Cas and came to sit down in front of me. He studied my legs intently and ran his hands over the smooth skin, and then looked up at me. He reached out and caught my chin in his hands, forcing me to look directly at him. I knew why.

"How do you feel?" he asked me, his eyes boring into mine. When he wanted an honest answer he always made sure I was looking him straight in the eye, because he could spot a lie in a heartbeat, and he knew I wasn't very good at lying to him when looking him in the eye.

I blushed slightly and smiled softly. "Good," I said as I reached up and put my hand on the one that had captured my chin. "I feel very good. Really I do." Sam stared at me for a moment longer, and then his whole body relaxed. He let go of my chin and turned to look at Cas.

"Thank you," he told the Angel quietly, and he said it with such emotion it made my eyes fill with tears. "And thank you, God," he added, his voice so low I almost missed it.

"Eden," I said to Cas, pleading with my eyes. "Please go heal Eden now."

"I will," Cas said. "But there is one other thing. Sam, I know you and Dean had planned on finding a place to 'hole up' as you two put it. For a while at least. Somewhere safe, where everyone could rest."

Sam tore his gaze away from me and looked up at Cas. "Yeah, when we thought the girls would need time to heal," he replied, eyeing the Angel.

"You should still do it. Find the best place possible and stay there for a while. Rivan and Eden will still need some rest, and so will you and Dean. You'll be safe for now. James will not be able to re-create the spell needed for the ring for quite some time."

I stared at Cas, amazed. "You know about that?" I asked.

"Of course I do," he told me, his tone indicating that I was stupid to ask such a question of an Angel. "I know about many things. For instance, I know it will take James three months before he is able to get everything he needs for the spell. He will not find out that the ring he has now is false until then. You will all need those three months to rest and prepare for what's coming next. Sam," Cas said sharply when he saw that Sam's eyes had wandered back to me. Sam looked back at him quickly, frowning.

"You and Dean need to do everything that you planned to do from the beginning," Cas told him, and it was my turn to frown. "I mean _everything_. The memories that they carry cannot be the only thing that…teaches them things," he finished, looking directly at me. My face turned bright red, my eyes went wide, my mouth dropped open, and I stared at Cas. He really couldn't mean what I thought he meant, could he? Surely not.

But by golly, he did. "They deserve the punishment you and Dean promised them," Cas said, his tone flat, final, and hard. Then without a word he was gone, and I heard a sudden shriek coming from the direction of Eden and Dean's room. Apparently they were no longer on pause and Cas had dropped in on them in the same way he had with me and Sam.

I turned wide eyes on Sam as Dean's loud voice mixed with Eden's small shrieks. "He…" I began, and failed. I tried again but couldn't form a coherent sentence to save my life. "He really didn't mean…how could he know…what right does he have—he couldn't have been serious!"

Sam smirked. "Trust me when I say Angels know nothing about joking around and everything about being dead serious," he told me with a casual shrug. My mouth flew open to loudly express my thoughts and feelings on this, but suddenly Sam grabbed me.

With an ease that was more than unnerving he hauled me onto his lap, completely ignoring my protests and easily blocking my attempts at swatting at him. I whimpered as he pinned me to him, afraid that he was angry and planning on doing something about it right now, but then his lips were on mine, crushing them with a passion and desperation that overwhelmed me. He kissed me in a way that told me he had been longing to do it since the first moment he got me back, but had been scared to jostle me around due to my injuries.

Now, thanks to Cas, he could lay one on me all he wanted, and once I realized that was all he intended to do right now I melted into him, responding to the kiss just as desperately. It felt good to finally be held properly, and to be kissed so deeply my mind spun. The sensible part of me that was squeaking at me told me that we should be with Eden and Dean, helping to smooth things over with Cas, but the part of me that needed this so badly told that sensible part to shut up and go screw itself. The sensible voice faded away, and all I was left with was Sam as he held me and kissed me and soothed me in a way that would make any woman green with envy.

Then suddenly the kiss ended and we parted, though I kept my arms wrapped around his neck. Sam gazed down at me, his eyes full of so many emotions I couldn't even pick one out among the turmoil. Then we heard Dean swear loudly, and Sam sighed.

"Guess we better get in there," he told me, and dropped a small kiss on my lips. I wanted nothing more than to stay right where I was, but reluctantly I climbed off his lap and stood carefully. I half expected to feel weak or bad in some way, but I didn't. I started forward and then stopped as something occurred to me. I looked down at myself and frowned.

"I guess you didn't salvage any of our clothes from the cabin where the vampires attacked me and Eden, did you?" I asked Sam, suddenly self conscious about not having any pants on. The shirt I was wearing was long sleeved and short, and it showed off the lacy panties James had picked out for me to wear. That reminder had me wanting to strip the things off, but of course I couldn't do that at the moment.

"Only a few things," Sam said as he stood up and took in, probably for the first time, what I had on. "Some jeans and some shirts. We'll have to take you shopping tomorrow."

I smirked. "Dean's going to love that," I said. "Do you have my jeans in your bag?"

For a moment Sam just stood there and stared at me, and after a few moments of that I shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah I've got them," he finally replied, and took my hand and led me out of the bathroom. He got them out for me and I took them slowly, biting down on my lip.

"Was it just clothes that you salvaged?" I asked softly. "Anything else? Like...my laptop?" That wasn't the first thing that had popped into my mind, but I suddenly felt silly asking about what I had originally thought of. But then I realized I shouldn't have asked about my laptop at all. It was obvious from the expression on Sam's face that it brought about a bad reminder, bad for me anyway. I had, after all, left all that information right there on my screen for James to find. But to my surprise, and great relief, Sam didn't say anything about that.

"Yeah," he said, his tone somewhat even. "We got that back. Nothing was wrong with it. It's in the trunk."

"Good," I replied, twisting the jeans in my hands. I hesitated for a few more moments, and then finally I just knew I had to ask. I wouldn't feel better until I did. With everything that had happened it was something that had not entered my mind until now, but since it had I needed to know.

"And what about…my…rabbit?" I asked, blushing slightly. I don't know why. But I guess I felt that worrying about a stuffed animal at that moment was stupid and selfish, but I couldn't help it. It meant a lot to me. I had kept it wrapped up in a plastic bag and hidden away in my suit case most of the time. It stayed there so often Eden didn't even know I had it.

Sam bought it for me about a year ago. We hadn't been together for very long, and one day I had talked Dean into stopping at a restaurant for a bathroom break. This restaurant, known as the _Cracker Barrel_, sported a small gift shop that you walked into and through to get to the restaurant part of the building. Sam had gone in with me, and after I'd used the bathroom he'd allowed me a few minutes to look around the shop, which sold figurines, old fashion gifts, decorative items, candy, and toys. I had come upon a collection of stuffed animals called _Webkinz_, which had gained popularity over the past few years. I had spotted one from the Signature Collection, and I had simply fallen in love with it.

It was a white, brown spotted, lop eared rabbit, and it was the most beautiful stuffed animal I had ever seen. I had taken it out of the little wicker basket that had been holding it, and for several minutes just stood there and studied all the fine, wonderful detail of the toy. He was darling, right down to his little nose and his fat, fluffy, cotton ball tail, which was all white. Even his little feet were in perfect detail. Yeah, stupid for a grown woman to fall in love with a toy, but I didn't care. Still don't, by the way. I didn't have any money to buy it myself and I didn't ask Sam to, because the Winchester brothers weren't exactly rolling in dough. They didn't get paid to rid the world of evil creatures and psychotic ghosts, and had been surviving on credit card fraud for years, as well as poker games and pool hustling.

So with a disappointment I couldn't hide I had put the rabbit back and gone to join Sam, who had been patiently waiting for me. Once we had gotten back to the Impala we found, to no surprise, that Dean had not been so patient, and when Sam suddenly said he had to use the bathroom now, Dean had sworn darkly as he'd watched his younger brother go back into the shop. Sam had come back out shortly with a brown paper bag in his hand, which he gave to me once he was in the car. It contained, of course, the rabbit I had so obviously been admiring, and the sweetness of the gesture had me bursting into tears, which had put Dean in a real great mood.

Later that night at one of the "grand" hotels we always stayed at, I had heard Sam and Dean arguing about Sam buying me the rabbit. They'd thought I was deep asleep and so hadn't kept their voices down too much.

"What the hell were you thinkin' Sammy?" Dean had demanded of his younger brother. "We're not rich! You can't go buying her presents left and right just because she's your girlfriend now!"

"I wasn't planning on it," Sam had growled at him. "That was the first time I ever bought her anything. What's the big deal?"

"You want to know what the big deal is? She'll expect it from now on!"

"Oh come on! No she won't. She knows better. She knows our money situation. She didn't ask for the rabbit, Dean. She just looked at it, and I could tell she liked it and…you know, she's been pretty good since she's been with us. This life is entirely different for her. We grew up living out of our suitcases. She didn't."

"So? What's your point?"

"My point is she's gone along with everything without much whining or demanding on her part. It's been real hard for her, Dean. You know that. She hasn't caused a whole lot of problems—"

"Oh really?" Dean had interrupted rather loudly. "What do you call wandering away from us last week, huh? That didn't cause much of a problem?"

"There was that, yeah," Sam had agreed. "But I jumped her ass for it." Oh, had he ever.

"Yeah well, you should have _busted_ her ass for it!" Dean had snarled, and as I had lied there in bed I'd had several mean thoughts roam through my head about Dean Winchester.

"Probably," Sam conceded, and had he not bought that rabbit for me I would have thought mean thoughts about him too, boyfriend or not. "But what she did…in the end it wasn't much. She didn't get far, and she won't do it again." (Here Dean had given a rude snort of disbelief, which Sam had ignored) "She's been through a lot Dean, and she's never asked for anything. She's never even shown interest in anything whenever we've gone into a store before now. But she really liked that rabbit and…I couldn't help buying it for her. She needed a little pick-me-up. It was pretty much a onetime deal. At least for a while. It's not like I'm going to buy her something every single day."

"Damn straight you're not! It's not hard to spoil a woman, Sammy. That's my main point here. You give in and buy her something now, and she'll start expecting it. It only takes once, and next thing you know, you've got a spoiled woman on your hands. They're almost worse than spoiled kids!"

Sam had given his own snort then, though it was one of exasperation. "Come on Dean. What the hell do you know about spoiled kids, let alone spoiled women? You're never around one long enough."

"Exactly my point!" Dean had exclaimed. "I'm never around any woman for very long. Which tells you just how fast you can turn one into a spoiled brat!"

Sam had sighed deeply, and it was that kind of sigh of his that signaled he was losing his patience with his stubborn brother. "Okay, whatever man," he had replied. "I'm not going to spoil her—"

"Famous last words!"

"—but if I do," Sam had continued through gritted teeth. "That will be _my_ problem to deal with. Not yours. Now just drop it already. I can't believe we just had an argument about a damn stuffed toy."

"Tell me about it!" Dean had grumbled before stomping off outside to get something out of the Impala. The next morning I had wrapped my beautiful stuffed rabbit, which I had named Sam (what a surprise!) in an old Wal-Mart bag and had put him at the bottom of my suitcase. The only time I had ever taken a peek at him after that was when I was digging through the suitcase looking for clothes. I didn't pull him all the way out because I was afraid that it would aggravate Dean if he saw it again.

And that's where that rabbit had been the night the vampires had attacked Eden and me. Right there in my suitcase, wrapped in a plastic bag for protection. I had never seen what happened to it while they had ripped everything apart trying to find the ring, and now I just had to know.

Still blushing, and dreading his answer, I looked up at Sam and waited. He seemed to relax a little, and he gave me a tired but genuine smile.

"Yeah, I got that too," he assured me, his voice soft and gentle. "It was still in the plastic bag when I found it. Still in perfect condition. Got it in the trunk next to your laptop." I felt my body sag under the weight of relief I felt at that, and though I knew the condition of a stuffed toy was not the most important thing at the moment, it didn't change the fact that I felt much better that it was safe.

Just then Dean suddenly hollered for Sam, reminding us both just what was most important at that moment.

"Go on," I told Sam. "I'll change and be there in a minute." Sam stood there for a moment and studied me, then stepped forward and dropped the most gentle and sweetest kiss on my lips before stepping back with another tired smile. He reached up and stroked my cheek with the back of his hand, and when Dean yelled again, he sighed and left our room, heading into the other bathroom to see if he could work his calming magic on his brother.

I joined them minutes later as promised, and the four of us plus an Angel had yet another interesting conversation there in the hotel bathroom that involved a lot of cussing, denial, confusion, and finally healing. And in the end, some happiness. At least for a while, that is.

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><p><strong>AN: Well that's it for now. Hope everyone liked it well enough. I plan on posting the next two chapters close to each other like I did here, and I should have them ready in a couple of weeks. Just so everyone knows the next four chapters will focus more so on the domestic discipline theme of the story. Mainly because I'm in the mood to go that way with it. Just wanted to let you all know! Again thank you for reading, and leave a review if you have a moment!**


	7. A Place For Us

**Author's Note: Hey again! How's everyone doing? Good I hope. Me, I'm hanging in there. Anyway, here's chapter 7 for ya. Chapter 8 will follow shortly, but not as soon as I had hoped. I'd wanted to post 7 and 8 close together as I had done with 5 and 6, but I don't quite have 8 ready yet. Sorry about that. That's called real life getting in the way. Dang old real life! Seriously, how dare it stop me from writing! Oi. But anyway my whole point is I'm mainly a weekend writer because that's the only free time that I get, and sometimes I don't always get so lucky on the weekends as far as writing goes. Either plans come up with the family or I get that really disgusting thing called writer's block. So yeah, that's why it takes a bit longer to churn out a chapter and if I bite off more than I can chew and try to write two, sometimes I don't win that battle. So I do apologize and I will torture you no more with my rambling. **

**Oh wait, there is one more thing! I posted a short bio on Rivan and Eden on my profile, so if you're interested please go read it because it contains some information that may not make it into the story, or if it does I will just write from the angle that everyone knows what I'm talking about because of the bio information I posted. Or something like that. Anyway, shutting up now, thank you all so much for reading and reviewing, and as always forgive any mistakes you might find while reading! Now back into the world of Rivan and Eden! Hope everyone enjoys this chapter! :-)**

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><p>"I finally found a place for you to stay," Bobby's voice came from Sam's cell phone, which Sam had placed on the table next to us and put on the speaker. I had just gotten out of the shower and for some reason experienced a weak spell, and Sam had insisted that I sit down and rest a moment. So I sat at the small table the hotel room provided, and Sam had gotten a dry towel and was now standing behind me as I sat, drying my hair for me. His hands were gentle as he rubbed at my dark brown hair, or my <em>mahogany<em> brown hair as Sam called it. Anyway, I felt my spirits lift at Bobby's words. He had been looking for a place for us to stay for days now and had not had much luck. Now it seemed his luck had changed.

"That's great Bobby," Sam was saying as he put the towel down and picked up my hair brush that was sitting next to the cell phone. Slowly and carefully he began to pull it through my thick hair. I never thought anything could be so relaxing, and soon I began to feel drowsy. In the room next door I could hear Dean talking to Eden, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. So instead I concentrated on the conversation Sam and Bobby were having, content to just listen at the moment as Sam continued to brush out my hair.

"It's in Dedham, Maine, on Green Lake," Bobby continued. "Real nice place. The guy that owns it usually rents it out as a vacation home, but he's retired it from that, at least for this year. There's plenty of room, five bedrooms I think he said. There aren't any other houses nearby, so you'll have plenty of privacy. I'm telling you kid, you lucked out with this place

Sam was silent for a moment. "And this guy, this friend of yours, is willing to let us stay there for three whole months, and he doesn't want any kind of payment for it?" he asked, and I could hear the frown in his tone.

"Nope," Bobby said easily. "He owes me big time. I literally saved his ass about five years ago, and then saved his son's ass not more than two years ago. He's an ex hunter trying to live a normal life, something he wouldn't be able to do if I hadn't been around five years ago."

Again Sam was quiet as he tossed all of this information around in that brilliant brain of his. "And you trust him?" he asked next, quietly.

"Hell boy, if I didn't I wouldn't have called you and told you about the house," Bobby growled. I had to smile. I completely adored Bobby, but he could get cranky sometimes. He was a rough, tough old cob, but he was loyal and wonderful, and one smart hunter.

"Okay okay," Sam soothed as he put my hair brush down and picked the towel up again. "Point made. Sorry. So, Dedham, Maine huh? We're actually in Maine now. We aren't far from Dedham. Shouldn't take us long to get there." We'd been on the road four days now since Eden and I were rescued, and we'd traveled up through New York and into Maine, making our usual stops at night. We'd had no idea where we were going. We were just driving.

"Good. I'm gonna meet you there and give you the keys to the place. Here, let me give you the directions." I could hear papers being rustled around as Bobby searched for what he needed.

"Hang on Bobby, I'll let you give them to Dean," Sam told him. "I kind of got my hands full right now," he added as he started to run the towel over my hair again.

There was a pause on the other line. "Okay," Bobby replied. "But first, how are those girls doin'?" His voice turned gruff as he asked, trying to mask his worry, and I smiled again. Bobby had taken well to me and Eden, and like he considered Sam and Dean sons, I think he considered us daughters.

"They're all right," Sam said, and I could hear the frown in his voice again, and I shifted slightly in my chair. "Rivan didn't have a good night last night, and she's feeling a little off this morning."

"What happened last night?" Bobby demanded sharply.

"She had a nightmare," Sam told him, and I shivered slightly at the memory of it. "It was the first time since we rescued them that either one's shown a sign of what happened to them. But still, she's doing okay considering. And so is Eden. If it hadn't been for Cas they would be much worse by now. But because of what he did for them, they're able to handle things pretty well."

"Well good," Bobby grumbled. "They're tough, I'll give em that." Again I felt my spirits lift. That was a big compliment coming from Bobby. "But they're stubborn and what they did was just plain stupid," he continued in his rough voice. Well. So much for the compliments. "I'm willing to bet you and Dean haven't paddled their asses yet, have you?"

I jerked so hard in my chair I would have fallen right off it if it hadn't been for Sam. Dropping the towel, he caught me by the shoulders and held me steady. I whipped my head around to stare at the cell phone with a look of hurt and outrage, as though I was actually looking at Bobby. Obviously Castiel wasn't the only one that felt Sam and Dean should stick to the promises they made us. Irritated, I twisted around in my chair and looked up at Sam. He shrugged as though saying, "Well, what did you expect?" but I could see the amusement in his eyes.

I narrowed my eyes at him, then turned and gave the phone a dirty look. "Bobby! I can hear you, you know!" I snapped, trying not to pout.

"Good!" Bobby replied instantly, not sounding at all surprised or embarrassed at being caught talking about me. "I ain't ashamed of what I said. You two scared the hell out of all of us, and you both deserve to have your asses beat. So have you done it yet, Sam?" Bobby asked again as my mouth fell open so far I nearly found it in my lap.

"Uh, no Bobby, we haven't done that yet, to be honest," Sam answered the older man as he picked up my hair brush again. Catching my shoulders, he made me turn back around and once I had he began to run the brush through my hair again, but I no longer found it relaxing. I was sitting there with my arms crossed over my chest, no longer trying to fight back a pout.

From the phone came a snort of aggravation at Sam's answer, and I shot it a dirty look. "Well you boys better get to it," Bobby told him bluntly. "They almost got themselves killed, and nearly gave you and Dean a stroke, and me a heart attack. You can't have them doin' that again, Sam."

"I know Bobby," Sam said, and suddenly he sounded way too serious for my liking. I stiffened in my chair and thought about getting up and going into the bathroom, but I was still feeling a little off, so all I could do was sit there and listen to the crazy conversation. "Dean and I are going to take care of things," Sam continued, and he put my hair brush down and dropped a kiss on the top of my head before coming around and dropping his long body into the empty chair across from me. He leaned back and gazed at me with hard eyes, and I stared back as long as I could before I had to give up and study the ugly painting that was hanging on the wall behind Sam.

"Good. Because like I said, they deserve it," Bobby growled out. I gave the phone yet another one of my dirtiest looks, and Sam made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a laugh before he covered it up with a cough.

"Trust me Bobby. I know all about it," he said, back to serious again. I could feel the color rush to my cheeks, and I dropped my eyes from the painting and glared at the floor. "Here, let me get Dean," Sam added before Bobby could reply. "Hey Dean!" he called. "Bobby wants to talk to you! He found us a place to stay. Wants to give you the directions." In an instant Dean appeared at the door that joined the two rooms, which had been left open. Sam picked up the phone and held it out to him.

"Talk to you later Bobby," he said, and took the phone off the speaker and gave it to Dean, who took it without a word and walked back to his room. As he passed through the door I could see Eden standing there, peering in at me. She made a face at me, which led me to guess that whatever Dean had been saying to her earlier did not agree with her. I gave her a helpless shrug and glanced at Sam, who was watching me with those keen eyes of his, and looked back at Eden with a look that said, 'I know, I've got one in here too.' She eyed the back of Sam's head and then made another face before turning and moving out of sight.

I sighed deeply and leaned back in my chair, running my hands through my hair, which was now completely dry and silky soft to the touch. Despite the annoying conversation he'd had with Bobby, I couldn't help but give Sam a tiny smile of thanks, which he answered back with his own half smile.

We sat there quietly and listened as Dean talked to Bobby, and as I did I studied Sam and he studied me back. Over the last few days he had been nothing but gentle, sweet, and patient with me, and Dean had been the same with Eden. Well, as gentle, sweet, and patient as Dean could be. Now though, after hearing that conversation with Bobby, it seemed like things were going to change, and fast. Frowning, I decided not to give that much thought at the moment, because for one thing I couldn't really handle it. Or didn't want to. Whatever. Instead, I turned my thoughts to the past few days.

When we stopped for the night at yet another hotel, Sam and I had taken one room, and Dean and Eden had taken the other, which was different for us. Usually Eden and I shared a room while Sam and Dean took the other one. But right now all we wanted was to be with our men, and so we were. Neither one of us had strayed from them since we'd gotten back, not that they'd let us any way. Sam and Dean had kept a constant, sharp eye on us, never letting us go anywhere alone. We didn't mind. Like I said, we just wanted to be with them. And it was a good thing I had been with Sam last night, because as he had told Bobby, I'd had a rough night. Despite the fact that Cas had "numbed" my memories of my time with James, I found that they still haunted me, as the Angel had warned would happen. Last night had been the first time, and hopefully the last. I had had a terrible, vivid nightmare where I relived what Eden and I had gone through, and had woken up crying and shaking. Sam had held me and soothed me, dropping kisses on my face, head and neck as he did. Eventually I had drifted back to sleep, clinging to Sam the way a survivor clings to the only life boat in an ocean of terror.

And then this morning after I had taken a shower and gotten dressed I just got…horribly weak and pale. As white as a sheet, as Sam had described it. I felt a little better now, but not one hundred percent. And now, after that conversation he'd had with Bobby and the way Sam was looking at me, I really wasn't feeling well. But this time I could tell it was just nerves. Sam was thinking about things I didn't want him to think about, and I didn't know how to stop it. So I decided to try and at least take his mind off of it for a little while.

"So how far are we from…Dedham?" I asked. "Isn't that what Bobby called it?"

Sam sat there for a moment and studied me, and I could tell I had not fooled him. But after a few more seconds of silence he decided to play along. "Yeah. That's what he said. And if we leave soon we should be able to get there by this evening," he told me.

"Oh," I said with a frown. "But…Bobby said he was going to meet us there. It'll take him longer to get there from his house."

"He's not home," Sam said. "He's on the road, and he's not far from us. He's a little ways ahead of us, actually."

I blinked. "Really? What's he doing here?"

Sam was quiet for a few moments, and then he sat up and leaned over to the table where he had placed a tray of food earlier. This was one of the few hotels we'd stayed at that offered continental breakfast, and while I had showered Sam had gone to get us something to eat. I watched as he selected an apple off the tray, and then watched as he pulled a rather wicked looking knife seemingly out of nowhere. With casual ease he leaned back in his chair and slowly began to peel the apple with the very sharp knife. I knew for a fact Sam and Dean always kept their knives sharp. I had spent many an evening watching them sharpening them.

"When Dean and I found out where we needed to go to get you and Eden back, Bobby came with us," Sam said as he peeled the skin from the apple. "He was there in the field when we came for you," Sam continued quietly. "He was our back up. Ellen and Jo were out there too," he added as he shaved off the last of the apple peel.

I had been watching this while listening, and now I looked up sharply. "Jo and Ellen were there too?" I asked in surprise, though I really don't know why I was surprised. "Where were they?"

"Far enough away to where the vampires couldn't smell them, but close enough to help if we needed it."

"Oh," I said, and then suddenly something occurred to me. "While Eden and I were…were running…you and Dean were tracking us using the GPS on our cell phones, weren't you?" I don't know why I hadn't thought of that long ago, or why it suddenly popped into my head now.

"Yep," Sam said simply. "There were several times we came close to catching up to you two. But it always seemed like something got in the way."

I blinked. "Oh," I said again, not sure what else to say to that at the moment. Then my eyes went wide. "Crap, that reminds me! My cell phone! Eden's! You need to look at them in case James did something to them before we got them back!"

"Already done," Sam said calmly, not looking up at me. "There's nothing wrong with them."

"Oh. Really? Wow. Well that's good," I said. Sam didn't reply, and for a few uncomfortable moments we were both silent, and then something else occurred to me. "How did you get around while you were tracking us? Did you rent a car?"

Sam glanced up at me briefly and then back at the apple. "No. Those are too easy to trace. Bobby had a car that he'd just finished. We used it."

"Oh," I said for the fourth time, my voice soft. That was a dumb question. Of course rental cars are easy to track. That's why Eden didn't want to get one when we ran off. Duh. Sighing, I leaned back in my chair and watched as Sam began to slice the apple up. He got rid of the seeds quickly, and soon he had a nice pile of sliced apple. He grabbed a napkin and began piling the slices on it, and as he did I looked up at him. I saw that he was wearing his charm again, something I had not noticed until now. But it wasn't just the charm that was hanging on the leather cord around his neck. With it he had my mother's ring, the one that James wanted so badly.

"Here," Sam said suddenly, drawing my attention to him. He picked the napkin of apple slices up and set them on the table by me. "Eat. It'll make you feel better. You didn't eat much yesterday," he added with a frown.

I looked at the apple slices, found them unappealing, and looked back at him. "When do I get to have my mother's ring back?" I asked him, nodding at it.

"You don't," he said, his tone flat. "I'm going to carry it from now on."

My mouth fell open. "Why?" I demanded. I'd had the ring since I was a teenager and I had grown attached to it, even if it did have the power to make the entire human race slaves to vampires.

"Because if I wear it with the charm, it will be better protected," he said.

"And because it will keep me from running with it again?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

That had been the wrong thing to say. He looked up at me, his eyes hard and sharp. "Yeah," he agreed, his tone equally hard. "There's that too."

I sighed deeply. "Sam, I'm not going to run away again."

"I know you're not, Rivan." He sat there and stared at me, and I could see the anger growing in his eyes, causing the hazel color to darken just a bit. I flinched and looked away, twisting my fingers in my lap. I considered staying quiet, but then I couldn't help it.

"You know, I only left to protect you," I said in a small voice, not looking at him. Again a terrible silence rang throughout the room, and I forced myself to look up at him. I was rather sorry I had. He didn't look too happy.

"We're not going to talk about that right now," he told me very quietly. "There will be plenty of time to discuss what you did later. Now eat," he ordered again, pushing the apple slices a little closer to me. "I'm not going to tell you again, Rivan," he added, his tone full of warning.

I felt my temper flare, and I glared at him. "Yes _daddy_," I sneered sarcastically. Yeah, I know, stupid thing to say, but hey, I was mad.

Sam's eyes darkened a bit more, and silently he cleaned his knife off and put it away. "You know, it would probably be a real good idea for you to watch your mouth," he told me as he stood up. His 6'4 frame towered over me, and for the first time since I met him I found his incredible height more than a bit daunting.

But even so I found I still could offer up a good helping of stubborn defiance. "Oh yeah?" I snapped back at him. "And why is that?"

Still gazing at me darkly, he crossed his muscular arms over his chest. "Because if you don't, I'm going to figure if you feel well enough to be a smart ass, you feel well enough for me to haul you across my knee and show you _daddy_," he told me, his tone crisp, clear, and completely lacking any kind of bullshit whatsoever.

My eyes went wide and my mouth fell open. Crap. The man had never sounded so serious or looked more intimidating to me. I felt myself shrink away from him and I hated myself for it, but hell, with a man like that standing there warning me that he was going to…going to…damn I couldn't even think the word. But anyway with him standing there saying that and looking dead serious, what was I supposed to do? There were probably a lot of women out there who would have wanted to jump up and kick his ass, but I knew I couldn't do that. Despite all of the self defense lessons he had given me over the last two years, I had found that I couldn't ever take him down. I had tried a few times. The simple fact was that he was bigger, taller, and stronger than me, and had been fighting all his life. I knew I'd never be able to take him.

So I did the only thing I could do at the moment. I backed down. "I don't think I feel quite that well," I told him in a tiny voice, risking a peek up at him. He still looked seriously pissed.

"Good," Sam said as he stared down at me. "Because we don't have time for that right now. Eat your breakfast," he added as he moved over to the bed, where he had his bag opened and half packed.

"I thought you weren't going to tell me that again." The smart ass words were out of my mouth before I could even think, and Sam paused in the middle of packing and slowly turned to look at me, his eye flaring again.

I jumped. I couldn't help it. "Apple!" I cried out, snatching the nearest slice and jamming it into my mouth. "I'm eating, I'm eating!" I added, my words coming out funny due to the fact that I was trying to talk around half an apple slice.

The corners of Sam's mouth seemed to twitch just a little, and after watching me intensely for a few more moments he finally turned back to his packing. I relaxed a little and slowed down on my chewing, trying not to choke. I sighed deeply and leaned back in my chair.

It would appear that my Sam was very serious about this whole…punishment thing. I mentally shook my head. Once again I found I couldn't even think the word, let alone say it out loud. The _**S**_word. I smirked. It was like a dirty word to me. But whatever it was, Sam really couldn't be serious about it. I was, after all, an adult. A twenty-five year old grown woman, for crying out loud. He really, seriously couldn't sp—

Ugh. Stupid _**S**_ word. I hadn't had problems thinking it before now. But I realized before now I had never truly taken him seriously when he warned me, which may be the reason why I hadn't thought much about the _**S **_word. But now that it seemed like such a thing was a great possibility…no a great _probability_, I had a mental block on the word. But really, could he? Would he? Had I pushed him too far in running away from him? Far enough for him to take action? To punish me for it? That little voice inside me answered quite simply. _Yes_.

I closed my eyes as I swallowed my mouth full of apple. Damn. Was I ever in trouble.

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><p><strong>AN: Well there you go! A bit short and perhaps a filler, but I hope you liked it anyway. Chapter 8 will come soon so keep an eye out. These last few weeks and weekends have been kind of rough and this was all I could get ready and post right now. I figured it was better than nothing, and along with nothing you would have had a longer wait. Yuck! So I wanted to post this chapter at least. Anyway, as always thank you so much for reading, and thank you to those that review! Please leave one if you have a moment! Thank you, you're all awesome!**


	8. Promises, Tattoos, and Rules

**Author's Note: Okay, here it is everyone. A nice long chapter for you all. I'm going to go ahead and warn you all now. There's no spanking in this chapter. (Gives you a moment to groan) But to make up for that I'll be posting chapter 9 sometime this weekend. Unfortunately there will be no spanking in that chapter either, but don't groan! In chapter 10 one of our darling girls will get a spanking. But I'm not going to tell you who the "lucky" first timer will be, sorry! ;-) But don't worry, chapter 9 will tell you that anyway. So yeah, the time is upon us! Or I should say the time is upon Rivan and Eden. Poor things, I'm so glad I'm not them lol!**

**Okay, there's one thing I want to make a note of in this chapter. The whole tattoo thing may be stretching it a bit, but I figured hey, this is fan fiction, I can stretch things just a little from time to time. Promise I won't do it often. But anyway I think that's all I have to say for now, other than my usual thanks for reading and reviewing. Oh yeah, forgive any mistakes you might find in this chapter. I caught a few in my other chapters when I was looking over the story and was very annoyed with myself. So I apologize for that and I hope there aren't many in this chapter. Anyway, enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Two Weeks Later: Dedham, Maine <strong>

Our new lives came at us at great speeds, and a lot of times I was so busy with it I didn't even pause to appreciate it. But when I did, I realized how wonderful it was. For two years I had lived out of my suitcase, driving for hours to get from one place to another. The Impala and cheap hotels had become my new home. But while I missed the stable life of living in an actual house it hadn't been too bad, mainly because I had Sam to take my mind off of my old life. Sam had not been in my old life. And if I ever went back to that life, I knew I would have to leave him behind. That had taught me quickly not to miss my old life too much.

But even so, now that I was living in an actual house again I had to admit it was nice. And I had Sam with me, and that was even better. Our first two weeks in Maine had been pretty uneventful. Well, if you can call Bobby arguing with Sam and Dean about how they should stick to their promise to punish us uneventful, or if you can call getting a tattoo that would prevent demons from possessing us uneventful as well. As promised Bobby had met us at the house when we arrived that first night. He had given Sam the keys to the house and he had gone in with us to check things out, and afterwards he had helped Sam and Dean put salt around all the entrances into the house. As well known as the Winchesters were in the world of supernatural creatures, they had to guard against more than vampires.

After that Eden and I had gone upstairs to pick out our rooms, and when we were done we'd gone back down and had started for the kitchen, where Bobby, Sam and Dean were. We'd slowed our approach though when we caught some of Bobby's words.

"Look, I know you two are tender hearted when it comes to women," Bobby had been saying. "Especially these two, since they belong to you. But you can't ignore what they did. You understand all of the things that could have happened to them. If you don't do something about it now, put your foot down and make some rules, they're gonna think they can get away with anything and who knows what they'll try next. You want them to keep pushin' until they're dead?"

"Of course not," Sam had said calmly. "But right now Dean and I feel it's better to wait a little longer and make sure they're really okay. Rivan still has me a little worried and I just don't think it's a good idea right now. When we're convinced their okay then we'll do it. It's like I said before, Bobby. We're going to take care of it."

"Yeah, but do you really mean that Sam?" Bobby had demanded. "When it comes right down to it, are you really going to do it? When Rivan starts cryin' are you gonna keep going? And what about you, Dean?" Silence had filled the kitchen. No one said anything, and no one had moved.

Finally Bobby spoke again. "Well?" he demanded.

"Yes," Sam had said quietly, and that quiet tone had carried an intensity that had made me shiver. "We _are_ going to do it Bobby. They almost got themselves killed because they didn't listen to us. They're going to learn that listening to us ought to be their top priority. And they're gonna learn what happens when they choose not to listen."

"Damn straight," Dean had finally spoken up. "We know it's not gonna be easy Bobby, but it needs to be done. I can't lose Eden. And Sam can't lose Rivan. They're gonna learn to listen to us one way or another. And as far as me being able to keep going when Eden starts crying, I don't think I'll have to worry about that much. She'll probably spend most of her time cussing me out."

After a muttered "Damn straight" of her own, Eden and I had decided not to join the Alpha Male party. Instead we'd gone back upstairs and to the room I had picked out, which had an awesome balcony which ran the length of the room. We'd chosen to sit on the huge bed though, and discuss how serious we thought Sam and Dean were about punishing us.

"They sounded pretty serious, Eden," I'd said as I sat cross legged on the king size bed. Eden had sat across from me, her pretty face pinched in worry.

"But that's stupid!" she'd argued. "We aren't kids. We're grown women. They seriously can_not_ spank us!" I'd noticed that Eden didn't seem to have a problem saying that word, but I also noticed that she blushed every time she did say it. I myself had gotten a little better in at least thinking the word completely instead of cutting myself off on the thought. Wow. I'm so proud of me.

Anyway, I'd shrugged in response. "I don't think it matters how old we are," I'd said quietly. "We scared the hell out of them and they're going to make sure we don't do it again. And this is their method of making sure of that."

"Well, I don't care if Dean does do it!" Eden had insisted, folded her arms and getting that stubborn look on her face. "I'm not going to become some silly, obedient woman just because he says I should be! And he was right, I _am_ going to cuss him out the whole time!" I wasn't quite sure what to say to that, so I'd remained silent. Several minutes had passed before Eden suddenly spoke again.

"When was the last time you were spanked?"

"Uh…I think I was ten," I'd told her, feeling my own blush stain my cheeks. "You?"

Eden had given me a wide, mischievous grin. "I was thirteen. Remember that boyfriend I had? He was seventeen, remember? Chad?"

"Oh yeah, I remember him! You had to do a lot of sneaking around to date him."

"Yeah," Eden had agreed, smiling as she remembered. "Anyway, he had a motorcycle, remember? And he came over one day when my mom was gone, and I talked him into letting me ride it by myself. And I got on the thing and ended up driving it into the garage door. And mom pulled up right when I did it too. You should have seen her. She went berserk and chased Chad off, swinging that new broom at him that she'd just bought at the store! It really was kind of funny. Then she got me inside and once she saw I was okay she tore into me. Smacked me five times on my ass. To be honest it really didn't hurt, but still. I couldn't believe she did it. I was way too old for that. But I'd really scared her when she saw me on that bike. I could have easily broken my neck, I have to admit. She kind of felt bad afterwards for spanking me, but she'd told me she was just so scared of losing me and literally seeing me almost break my neck just made her kind of snap."

I'd stared at her for a moment, and she'd stared back. "I guess this is the same thing then," I'd pointed out quietly. "Isn't that why Sam and Dean are going to do it? We scared them. They thought they were going to lose us. They're reacting to that in the same way."

"Yeah but…they're our _boyfriends_! It's different!"

"I don't really see how, Eden."

For a moment she had just sat there and stared at me in disbelief. "So you're saying we deserve it?"

I'd shrugged. "I don't know, Eden. I'm saying…I'm saying I can understand it in a way."

"So what, when the time comes are you just going to bend over when Sam tells you to and take your licks?" she'd asked, and I definitely turned bright red at that.

"I never said that," I'd huffed at her. "All I said was that I can understand why they're upset. I don't like the idea anymore than you do."

"Well what are we going to do then?"

"What can we do?" I'd asked with another shrug.

"Sam's been teaching you how to defend yourself," she'd reminded me.

"Yeah I know," I'd said, making a face. "But I can never take him down. I've tried before."

That had caught Eden's interest. "Really? When?"

"Just a few times since he started teaching me. I tried to do it a couple times during practice, and once I tried to do it when he actually smacked me on the ass for doing something I shouldn't have done. We were in a hotel room, and he pinned me to the bed and wouldn't let me up until I calmed down and swore not to attack him again."

"Huh," Eden had muttered, looking defeated. "That really sucks."

"Yeah, tell me about it," I'd snorted. We had sat there in silence for several minutes, and our thoughts had only been interrupted when Dean had hollered up the stairs and told us Bobby was leaving and that he wanted to say good-bye to us. Bobby's good-bye had been full of gruff warnings and thinly veiled threats if we didn't behave from now on, but he had hugged both me and Eden before leaving and had told us that we were like daughters to him and that if anything ever happened to us he'd never be able to stand it. Then he had left very quickly before he began showing too much emotion.

After that we had settled into our new life pretty quickly, and then a few days later Ellen and Jo had shown up, and Dean and Sam had informed us that we were going to get the same tattoos that they had, which was a symbol that prevented demons from possessing them. Ellen and Jo were going to do it. I'd had no idea they even knew how to give tattoos, but I really shouldn't have been surprised. Anyway, Eden and I had not been thrilled and had argued, but in the end we lost that battle. So that day I got a tattoo right between my shoulder blades, and Eden got hers on her ankle. It had hurt I have to say, but it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be. Ellen and Jo had brought everything they needed, and while we'd stayed in the kitchen Sam and Dean had gone into the living room, apparently thinking we wanted to have a girl's talk or something.

We had a talk alright, but it had not been enjoyable. While they'd been applying the tattoos, we'd learn that Ellen _and_ Jo both thought we deserved the spanking Sam and Dean had promised us, which had made Eden and me feel resentful toward the two women. Women were supposed to stick together after all, no matter what.

"Now you two listen to me," Ellen had snapped at us when the tattoos were done and we were still glaring at her and Jo. "What you two did was the stupidest damn thing I've ever seen. And it caused a whole lot of problems, and it all could have ended in disaster. Those vampires could have ripped you apart, slowly. They could have made the pain last for days before you'd finally have the relief of dying. And if that had happened, do you know what it would have done to those boys in there?" she'd added, jerking her head toward the living room where Sam and Dean were. "It would have destroyed them completely. Both of them. Not just Sam," she'd said as she flashed me a dark look. I'd flinched and looked away, and she'd continued.

"Those two have been to hell and back, _literally_, and have gone through unimaginable pain. But losing you two would have been all they could take. You two mean more to them than anything else, but you don't seem to realize that or even care! You ought to be ashamed of yourselves, both of you. I'd walk real carefully these next few weeks if I were you. Sam and Dean are still pissed at you. And they should be! I don't know what they're waiting for anyway. They should have had you skinned by now," Ellen had told us, standing there in the middle of the kitchen looking like the formidable mother that she was. By that point I had indeed begun to feel ashamed of myself, and I could tell Eden felt the same.

"You damn well should at least have had your hides tanned by now," Ellen had added, and then to my surprise she had suddenly pulled me into a fierce hug which lasted several moments. Then she had done the same to Eden, and when she had turned away to pack up what she had brought there were tears in her eyes.

"Damn young kids anyway," she'd muttered as she'd stuffed all of the tattoo tools into her bag. "Thinkin' they know everything and think they can just run off whenever they want to and nothin' will happen to them." As she muttered this I'd noticed Jo had shifted uneasily, looking guilty. I'd figured she must have been remembering when she had lied to her mother and ran off to do a job with Sam and Dean and had nearly got herself killed. She'd caught me looking at her and had frowned at me, and I had sighed and turned away.

Ellen and Jo had left shortly after that. For the next few days everyone's mind was only on the new tattoos Eden and I had, and Sam and Dean had kept an eye on them, putting medicine on them when needed, and kept bandages on them. Sam and Dean were still being gentle with us, making a fuss over us, handling us with kid gloves, babying us. We soon got used to it and our moment of spoiling was so thorough that we'd figured they'd abandoned the idea of spanking us and maybe would just stick with chewing us out eventually.

But then one day our lives changed abruptly. I triggered the change. One afternoon after digging through my stuff I discovered that I was missing one of the books that I drug along from home. Figuring it was still in the car, I went to the room Sam had picked for himself, found he was not in there, and helped myself to his set of keys to the Impala. I met no one on my way down the stairs and no one stopped me as I opened the front door and walked on out, careful not to disturb the lines of salt that had been placed in front of the door, both going in and coming out.

It was a beautiful day, and as I gazed up at the clear sky I wondered why we had not been out more to enjoy it. Determined that would change, I wandered over to the Impala, unlocked the trunk, pulled the lid open, and began rummaging around inside, hoping to catch sight of my book. I had only been looking for a few minutes when suddenly someone bellowed my name.

It startled me so much I jumped and nearly cracked my head on the trunk lid. Glad of the near miss, I straightened up and looked around to see Sam bearing down on me, the furious look on his face alarming to say the least. I opened my mouth to ask what was going on, but I froze when he suddenly stopped next to a tree. I watched as he whipped out his knife, sliced a thin branch off the tree, and then began to strip it of its leaves and extra little branches. In mere seconds he had it clean and smooth, and then he started toward me again, the newly made switch in his hands swishing menacingly through the air as he moved. My blood ran cold and I slammed the trunk lid shut and began to back away, my eyes round and horrified.

"_What the hell do you think you're doing out here alone_?" Sam bellowed at me. He was coming toward me fast and I backed away faster, moving around the car.

"I was just looking for a book!" I cried out, my hands spread out in front of me as though to hold him off.

"_A book_?" he repeated with a roar. "_You risked your neck for a damn book_? _Are you completely insane, Rivan_?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, my voice ringing with a bit of hysteria as Sam kept coming. I was at the front of the car now and Sam had just reached the trunk, and I shrieked and moved around to the other side of the car as he came toward me, very determined to keep it between me and him.

"_It isn't safe to be out here by yourself_!" Sam snarled at me, pausing to give me a withering glare over the top of the Impala. He started moving again, and so did I. "_You should know that Rivan_! _What the hell is wrong with you_? _Get your ass in that house NOW_!" he added, and he slammed his free hand down on the hood of the Impala to emphasize his order. I wailed at the cracking sound it made, and with my heart racing I whirled and hauled butt toward the house, Sam hot on my heels.

Once I reached the door I flung it open so hard it flew forward and then cracked into the wall behind it, the doorknob probably leaving a mark in the clean white wall. Not at all concerned with that, I kept going, leaping over the lines of salt. I glanced back once to see that Sam had just come through the door, and as I watched him slam it shut I suddenly collided with something hard. Stunned, I looked up as strong hands caught both of my shoulders, and my eyes went wide with dismay as Dean glared down at me, his own eyes hard and stern.

"Get out of my way!" I shrieked at him, and using the heel of my hand, I shoved him in the chest as hard as I could. Apparently it wasn't hard enough though. He did let me go, but he didn't move an inch.

"Sorry sweetheart," he said to me with that arrogant, cocky smile of his that really needed to be smacked off. "But you're not going anywhere." I wailed and turned around, only to be confronted by Sam, who was standing there looking just as pissed as before, the switch still in his hand. Before anyone could say anything Eden suddenly came down the stairs, her eyes wide and confused.

"What the hell is going on?" she demanded as she came to stand beside Dean. She took in my freaked out state, noted the angry Sam armed with a switch, and immediately started forward to defend me. Dean caught her by the arm and dragged her back and she swung out a small fist, which he caught in mid air.

"So help me sweetheart, if you deck me I will wail on your beautiful little ass right here and now," he told her, and his voice was full of quiet fury that Eden would be really stupid to ignore at this point. Frozen, she stood there and stared at him, apparently unable to decide on which reaction she wanted to give.

Meanwhile Sam had moved closer to me and I flattened myself against the wall, still holding out my hands in an attempt to ward him off. Dean, who was holding tight to a still frozen Eden, glanced at us.

"What did she do anyway?" he asked Sam as he looked from me to his brother.

"She went out to the car, by herself, to get a damn book," Sam told him, and Dean swore softly.

"What's wrong with that?" Eden demanded defiantly, having gotten over her shock at Dean's promise. "She can go outside if she wants to!"

"No, actually she can't!" Sam snapped at her, causing her to jump a little. "In fact, neither one of you can! Since we've got you both here and the subject has come up, I might as well tell you both about the new rule Dean and I decided on."

"What new rule?" Eden asked, outraged.

Sam glared at her for a moment, and then turned his furious eyes on me. "From now on neither one of you are permitted to go outside. Not alone, and not together. The only way you can go outside is if me or Dean is with you. Otherwise if you so much as stick your noses out that door you're gonna find yourselves hard pressed to sit down for a week or two." A moment of terrible silence followed his words, and then suddenly both Eden and I began to protest. We were quickly cut off by a united bellow from Sam and Dean.

"ENOUGH!" they both roared, causing me and Eden to jump.

"You can't be serious!" Eden wailed at Dean, who was staring down at her with what I would call a rather livid expression.

"Damn right we're serious," Dean snapped at her. "Right now we don't know what's out there watching us, but you can guarantee there's something out there, and nine times out of ten it's not just vampires. And you can guarantee that whatever's out there is looking for you two. So you're both staying inside from now on!"

"No!" Eden howled.

"YES!" Dean bellowed back at her. "That's the new law, ladies. Learn it, live it, love it. Or face the consequences." Another silence fell, and while Eden stared at Dean I risked an anxious glance at Sam. The switch remained in his hand and the dead serious look was still on his handsome face.

"That's not the only new rule that's going to pop up around here," Sam said into the silence, and his angry look got so bad I had to look down at the floor as tears suddenly flooded my eyes. "You two are gonna toe the line or you're gonna both have some serious problems on your hands. Are you listening to me, Rivan?" he demanded sharply.

I jumped again as a few tears fell from my eyes and landed on the hard wood floor. "Yes," I muttered, trying to keep my voice calm but pretty much failing.

"Good. You still have my keys to the car?" Without looking at him I stuck my hand in my pocket and pulled them out. I held them out and Sam took them quickly, shoving them into his own pocket. "Go to your room," he told me when he was done. I looked up sharply, and he took a step toward me. "Go to your room, Rivan," he snarled quietly. "Now." Horrified, angry, hurt, and embarrassed at being sent to my room like a naughty child, I shot off and hurried toward the stairs. My movement seemed to pull Eden out of her shock, and I guess she made to follow me, because I heard Dean stop her.

"I don't think so love," I heard him say as I started up the stairs. "You're staying down here with me. We need to have a little talk." If Eden protested I didn't hear her, and seconds later I reached my room and went inside. I had the urge to slam the door shut as hard as I could, but stopped myself at the last minute. Instead I closed it softly, stood there for a moment, and then ran to my bed where I flung myself upon it and cried into my pillow.

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><p>After that I expected that very soon Eden and I would get our promised spankings. But days passed and it did not happen. What did happen, however, was almost as bad. Sam and Dean watched us constantly, making it to where we had little freedom. Whenever Eden or I started to leave the room we were bombarded with questions, demanding to know where we were going and what we were going to do. We learned very quickly that if we got smart in our replies we'd have to spend several hours in our rooms as a consequence. We weren't allowed to argue for very long, if at all, with our boyfriends, who had suddenly become strict and stern almost overnight, not to mention stubbornly determined to make us "toe the line" as Sam had put it.<p>

More discomforts and shocks made themselves known as several more days passed. Over the last few days I developed a habit of calling Dean a dick head when he made me mad, and after about the hundredth time calling him said name, Sam laid down a new rule for me. No more calling Dean a dick head, or anything else for that matter. Breaking this rule would earn me a spanking. An annoying rule, but even more followed it. Probably the one that irritated me second to not being able to go outside was finding out that I was not allowed to have my laptop back. One evening after dinner when TV had finally bored me close to tears and I had read all that I could take of my books, I asked Sam if he would go out to the car and get my laptop for me, which I knew was still in the trunk of the Impala.

"No," he told me calmly from his place on the couch. He had a book in his hand and didn't even pause to look up at me when he answered.

I stood there and stared at him for several seconds. Eden and Dean were sitting on the other couch opposite Sam, though I noticed Eden wasn't sitting very close to Dean. Usually she liked to snuggle up to him and lay her head on his shoulder, but apparently she found the new stern Dean too annoying to cuddle up to. I looked away from the frowning couple and back to Sam, who was still calmly reading his stupid book. For a moment I thought about having a fit, and then I paused and thought about it. It was dark outside, I realized. Maybe he just didn't want to go outside in the dark. I could understand and wait until the morning. Yes, this was probably why he wouldn't do it right now.

"Why not?" I asked, just to be sure. I also made sure that I sounded calm and not at all bitchy.

Sam sighed and finally lowered the book and looked at me. "Because you can't have it back," he told me, still in that maddeningly calm voice. "Not for a long, long time."

I felt my temper flare almost immediately. "_Why not_?" I asked again, though this time in a much more forceful tone.

"Because I don't really like the idea of you having it back after you played 'Dear Diary" and left an ass load of information open for James to read!" he told me, and his tone was suddenly just as forceful as mine.

Of course I knew he was talking about my letters to Jo, and my face turned a bright red. I assumed that he had read them all as well, and I found that more than a little embarrassing, considering some of the stuff I had put in my letters. For a moment I wasn't quite sure how to respond, because I knew deep down how stupid the move had been. Finally when the silence had stretched a little too long I glared at Sam.

"Don't be stupid!" I told him. "It's not like I'm going to go do it again!"

"Yeah I know you're not, because you're not going to have your laptop to tempt yourself with!" Sam informed me. "You can have it back when I think you've learned to be more responsible with it. Which means not until a very long time from now." A split second of terrible silence filled the room, and then my voice took its place. I shrieked at Sam and even cussed at him, but only for a very few short seconds. Tossing his book aside, he shot up and took a step toward me, his face set in what was becoming a very familiar stern look.

"Upstairs! Now!" his voice cut into my rants, and my eyes went wide.

"_NO_!" I snarled. "I am not a child and you will not treat me like one! What the hell gives you the right to send me to my room? I want my laptop back, _now_, and I want you to stop demanding to know what I'm doing every time I move! I am twenty-five years old and I will do whatever the hell I want to and you can't stop me! Now get your overly perfect ass outside and get me my laptop, or I'll damn well do it myself!"

A long moment of intense silence filled the room, and I risked a glance at Eden, who was sitting there staring at me with a bit of appreciation on her face, probably because the rebel in her was pleased to hear me tell Sam off. But also mixed in with that was a lot of anxiety, for the logical side of her realized what my words could mean and she feared what kind of response I'd get to my defiant stand. Still feeling very defiant, I looked back at Sam and waited, my head held high and a smug little smirk on my lips.

The smug little smirk didn't stay around for long.

"Rivan," Sam began, his voice barely under control. "If you so much as take one step toward that front door, I swear I will wail on your ass until you can't sit for a month."

The warning shook me, don't doubt that, but I was still in one hell of a defiant mode, so I called him a rather naughty name, flipped him off, and turned to head for the door. I had probably taken no more than two steps before Eden suddenly shrieked my name in warning, and I spun around to see Sam coming at me, holding the switch he had cut the other day when he'd caught me outside. Crap, I didn't know he'd kept the stupid thing!

"Sam Winchester!" I howled, my voice sounding more fearful than I liked. "Don't you dare!" Over on the other couch I barely noticed Dean holding Eden on his lap, keeping her trapped in his strong arms as she attempted to break free and come to my aid. "Noooo!" I wailed as Sam moved with a lightning fast speed. I turned and ran myself, moving with a speed that I hoped was just as fast, or faster, than Sam. Without looking behind me I charged up the stairs and flew down the hall to my bedroom. I shot through the door, tried to turn and slam it shut with the intention of locking it, but Sam's hand was suddenly on it, keeping it firmly open. Whimpering, I stumbled backwards, never taking my eyes off of him as he came storming into my room, the switch clutched in his hand and his eyes on fire.

"Sam no!" I cried out. "Please don't!" I begged, my pride and defiance suddenly gone. "Don't, please don't…" My voice faded away as I started to cry, and I wrapped my arms around myself and gave him a pleading look as tears poured down my face.

Sam, who had been advancing, stopped as soon as my tears had started to fall. He stood there staring at me, and I watched as he took a deep breath. Finally after several seconds of silence he spoke, and though his voice was low it still held a clear note of anger. "You are not to leave this room until I say otherwise," he told me, and I sniffled pitifully. "Do you understand me, Rivan?"

"Y-yes," I stammered, not at all inclined to argue the point now. Funny how a switch can do that to you.

"Good. I am not messing around with you, Rivan. I'm not playing any games with you anymore after this. From now on whenever you decide to have a little fit like you just did, there's going to be a price to pay. Am I making myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes," I whispered, lowering my eyes to take in the carpet. It was a lot better to look at that than to look at an angry Sam or the switch that he held.

"Good. You can just stay in here for the rest of the evening, actually," he said as he glanced at the clock by my bed. It was getting late, and I guess he figured there was no point in coming back and telling me I could leave the room tonight. "I want you to get yourself ready for bed and go to sleep. Got it?"

"I…I have to go to bed _now_?" I asked tentatively as I too looked at the clock. It was almost ten, and I usually stayed up until midnight or sometimes a little later. I did not want to go to bed right now.

"Yes Rivan, you have to go to bed now," he told me, his tone now a mixture of exasperation and anger. "Isn't that what I just said?"

"But Sam, I—" I stopped suddenly as his eyebrows went up and he took a step toward me.

"You want to go to bed with a sore ass?" he asked me quietly. "Just keep arguing with me and that's exactly what will happen."

I could almost feel the color drain from my face and as fresh tears started falling I moved over to the dresser and opened the top drawer, where I kept my pajamas. I pulled out some sleep shorts and a matching top, and with a pathetic little sob I hurried to the bathroom and closed the door behind me.

Geez, what had happened to the strong woman downstairs? The one that told Sam she was an adult and could do whatever she wanted, and to get his ass outside and get that laptop? _She got chased upstairs with a switch carried by a boyfriend who has had enough of her shit and who is very ready to wallop her ass with that switch_, I answered myself silently as I pulled out my stuff I used to wash my face with every night. After doing that and brushing my teeth I changed into my pjs, and with a feeling of great dread I opened the door, hoping Sam had chosen to leave me alone while I'd been in the bathroom.

No such luck. He was standing in the middle of the room, the thumb of his left hand hooked into the pocket of his jeans while the other hand still held that damn switch. For a moment I stopped and stared at him. How in the _hell_ could a man look so damn sexy while standing there with a switch in his hand, of all things? I really didn't understand it, but I'm sorry, he just really did look…well, just plain sexy! No, not _plain_ sexy. _Wonderfully_ sexy. Suddenly feeling like slapping him for daring to look so darn sexy while being mad and seriously thinking about whacking me with that switch, I shot him an irritated look, which got me the eyebrows-up response.

"Bed," he ordered, jerking his head toward the bed, and with a quick glance I saw that he had pulled the covers back for me. "Now," he added when I didn't move right away. There was a good reason for that though. If I went to the bed, either going left or right, with him standing where he was I'd have to walk right by him, and that would make it all too easy to give me a smack with either the switch or his hand as I went by.

Feeling horribly embarrassed for having to do it but seeing no other option, I dropped both hands behind me and covered my ass as I started forward. When I reached him I turned slightly so my ass was facing away from him and toward the wall, trying my best to keep it well out of range of the switch and his hands. For a moment I thought I caught an amused smile on his lips but when I looked again he was all Mr. Serious and Stern. Once I got passed him I turned to where I was facing him, walking backward toward my bed. He followed, his free hand now propped on his hip as he watched me with what was now an obviously amused expression.

"Don't laugh at me," I moaned, sounding bawlier than I had intended. I stopped moving backwards and eyed him warily. "It's not funny!" I added, and then I really did start to cry again.

"No, it's not funny," he agreed with a sigh. "I'm sorry," he added, surprising me. "Turn around and walk right, so you won't trip and fall. I promise I won't smack you on the ass in any way shape or form."

For a moment I just stood there and sniffled as I watched him. Twisting my fingers together, I eyed him and then the switch. "You're not going to…to… " My voice trailed off and I waved my hand at the switch, figuring he'd pick up on what I was trying to ask.

He did. "No," he told me quietly. "I'm not."

"Not at all?" I asked in a whisper.

"Nope. Why, are you complaining?"

My eyes went wide and I literally jumped. "No! Of course not!" I told him as my face gave him a light show of several shades of red. "But I…I was just wondering…why you changed your mind," I added in a mumble. "You seemed so determined."

"I was," he agreed. "And I still am. But it's not happening tonight. I have a lot of reasons for making that decision. Now get in bed."

For another few moments I just stood there and stared at him uncertainly, and then finally I turned and walked the rest of the way to the bed quickly, and crawled in just as quickly. I pulled the covers over me and turned on my side with my back facing Sam and stared at the wall, feeling very much like a naughty child that had just been put to bed as punishment for said naughtiness. I realized, as I stared at the wall, that of course that was exactly what had just happened. Ugh.

I heard Sam approach the bed, and then he reached down and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. The gentle touch was unexpected but not completely undesired, and my lower lip trembled as I closed my eyes.

"I love you Rivan," Sam told me quietly. "I know you don't like me right now but…I still love you," he added, and leaned down and placed a soft kiss on my temple. I drew in a deep, shuddering breath, keeping my eyes closed, and I felt his hand brush lightly against my cheek. "I'll see you in the morning," he said as he turned the lamp by my bed off. The door to my bedroom was still open, and the light from the hallway spilled into the room, giving off more than enough light for Sam to make it out of the room without tripping over anything.

I listened as he crossed the room to the door, and then I heard the door close, blocking out the hallway light and plunging me in complete darkness. I opened my eyes and looked at the door, and for a second the hallway light slipped under the crack at the bottom of the door, and then it too went out. I listened for Sam's footsteps as he walked down the hall to the stairs, but I could barely hear them, and then all was silent.

After drawing in another shuddering breath I closed my eyes again, and a few lingering tears escaped and fell down my cheeks as I drifted off to sleep a lot sooner than I thought I would.

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><p><strong>AN: Ooookay that's it for now! But like I said you won't have a long wait for chapter 9. Chapter 10 won't be far behind that. Anyway I hope you all liked this one and if you have a moment please leave me a little review! Thanks for reading!**


	9. Crime and Punishment: Eden's Spanking

**Author's Note: Okay folks, here's chapter 9 as promised. And as you've no doubt noticed from the title of the chapter it has the first spanking in it and Eden is the one that gets it. I've spent all weekend rethinking, deleting (a lot) and rewriting so I could move at least one spanking into this chapter. As a result I'm not sure how I like the spanking part but it's what everyone wanted so here it is. I would like to apologize to you for apparently dragging it out for too long. In my mind domestic discipline brings on a lot of thoughts and feelings for everyone involved and I guess I was trying to convey that a little too much. I did not mean to cause my readers any aggravation or frustration with my story and if I have driven any away all I can say is I'm sorry and go from there. Anyway I'm nervous about the spanking part of this chapter as I'm not sure I wrote it very well. If anyone feels that it's not all that great, again I offer my most sincere, heartfelt apology for disappointing you. I was merely trying to fix a problem I had caused.**

**In the beginning of this chapter the girls pull one last, really stupid stunt when they decide to sneak outside and go exploring. If some of you think Sam and Dean's reaction to this is too harsh, I want you to think about something. A group of vicious vampires are still actively pursuing the girls. James wants them back at some point. He can come after them at any time, or send a group of vampires to find the girls. Going outside alone or together is very dangerous for the girls. Also there's more to worry about than vampires, as Dean pointed out in the last chapter. There's a lot of creatures out there that know who Sam and Dean are and would love to harm the girls to get revenge or as a way to force the boys out into the open. In Sam and Dean's world anything at all can happen and at any given time. We've seen it in the show. That's why they're being so hard on Eden and Rivan about going outside alone.**

**Okay I just realized how mean I'm sounding. Please understand that I'm not saying all of this in response to any of the reviews I got. No one said anything mean there. In fact I have to say that Rye's reviews were very flattering and has made me feel SO much bettter! You you feel sad when you watch the show because there's no Rivan, and you think she's a good enough character to be in the actual show? Wow! *Tears up* Thank you Rye, you have no idea how much I needed to hear something like that! That's the best compliment anyone could give me! *****Sniffles* Okay sorry, back to my point. You all did seem to like the last chapter as usual and that's a relief because I was worried. You were all positive, nice and gave your opinions and I love you all for that. And trust me when I say I do understand how it can get annoying when you're waiting for characters to get a promised spanking. Like I said I didn't mean to drag it out so much. But the reason for this message is because I actually got a rather nasty PM from someone about how I was writing this story. I got it about an hour after I posted chapter 8 actually. The message was beyond rude and cruel and that's what caused me to rewrite chapter 9. I had the first part done but did not have the spanking part written yet. So I guess I pretty much wrote that part under stress.**

**Anyway I should have explained right away why I'm so upset. Sorry about that everyone. Because I got that PM I figured just in case anyone else was having the same thoughts as that person who sent me the PM, I better explain why I haven't written either of the promised spankings up until now. I really hope I've made things more clear now. And as a side note I've blocked that user and I hope I don't get any more nasty PMs from anyone else. **

**Okay one last thing. The first part of this chapter is written from Rivan's point of view as always, and the second part is done in Eden's point of view since she is the one getting spanked. I did that part in first person just like I do with Rivan, and I hope it's not confusing. Anyway just in case some might think Dean was too harsh with the punishment he dished out, I felt he had to be, just a little, to get the message across to Eden. He doesn't want to lose her and he needs to make sure she doesn't do anything so stupid again. She's very, _very_ stubborn and it takes more than a few smacks to get through to her. Maybe I'm wrong in thinking this way but who knows. Anyway, thank you to everyone that reviewed and again please know that my message here was not aimed at any of you. Just that one person. If my message here sounds mean and grouchy it's because I had a really bad week and that PM from that person just topped it off. I was not intending to make it sound like I was jumping on any of my reviewers. I adore you all and would never do that! Thanks again to everyone that has kept up with this story and again I'm sorry if I have disappointed you with my writing at any point. Hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

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><p>For what was probably about the fifth time a low branch got snagged in my hair. I jerked to a stop and fought with it, cussing and trying not to cry at the same time. Ahead of me Eden heard my struggle and fought her way back to help.<p>

"Got caught again?" she called out as she attempted to wade through the bushes herself.

"Yes!" I cried out. "Damn! Eden, I can't believe we did this. _Why _did we do this? We're going to get in so much trouble! We've been gone for hours! Sam and Dean are going to skin us alive!"

"I know," Eden replied quietly as she approached me. Carefully she reached out and started working on getting the branch to let go of my hair. "I'm sorry I made you do this, Rivvie," she added, using my old nickname, which proved how upset she was. She hadn't called me by that name since we were ten.

"Well it's not your fault," I said as the branch finally gave up its fight and turned me loose. Eden and I stood there in the middle of the forest and stared at each other.

"You know it is," she said. "I'm the one that insisted upon doing this. You only came because you were scared for me. Didn't want me roaming around out here by myself. I told you that you didn't have to come, but that's why you did."

She was right actually. A few days after Sam had chased me upstairs with that switch, Eden had come to me and told me that she had to get out. She was tired of staying in the house, she was tired of being told what to do, and she needed to go out for a while. Her first idea was to steal the Impala again and go out driving around. I somehow talked her out of that, but then she had decided that she at least wanted to go exploring the land around the house. I had tried to talk her out of that too, reminding her how much trouble we'd get into if we were caught, and more than likely we would be. But she had not cared. She'd told me that if I didn't want to come with her I didn't have to. She'd understand if I chose not to, she promised. But she was going. Of course, I couldn't let her go alone. So early this morning, not long after the sun had started to rise, we'd snuck out of the house. Sam and Dean were dead to the world. It was the best time to do something as crazy as what we were doing.

We had packed a little bag of food and had set off just to explore the woods around the house. We had entered the woods without any fear of getting lost. We'd walked for an hour, enjoying the songs of the early morning birds, and pausing every now and then to study an interesting rock or tree. We'd walked another hour while eating the breakfast we had packed. It was after that when we decided to turn and go back. And it was at that point when we discovered we were lost. We'd been in the woods for five whole hours now. No doubt Sam and Dean had discovered we were missing long ago. They would have searched the house, and the area outside around the house. They wouldn't have tried calling us, because we had left our cell phones in our rooms. Don't ask me why. Don't ask me why we'd done this to begin with! I guess simply because Eden had felt like having one last fling with defiance, and I couldn't let her go alone because I was afraid something would happen to her.

"Eden," I said as we started forward again. "You know what's going to happen when we finally get back, don't you?"

For a moment she said nothing. Then I heard her sigh. "Yes," she said. "I know."

"This'll be the last straw," I added, carefully stepping over a good sized hole full of slimy water and soggy pinecones. "They're gonna bust our asses for this. Big time. We've gone too far on top of everything else that we've done. They won't hesitate this time."

"I know Rivvie!" Eden said, her voice laced with a twinge of hysteria. "Let's…let's just focus on getting back to the house. Then we'll worry about Sam and Dean."

I sighed. "Yeah," I muttered. "Sure." We walked in silence for quite a while, pausing every now and then to rest. After another half hour had passed I suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Eden asked, turning to face me.

"I think we're close," I told her, looking around. "I recognize this area."

Eden made a face. "How can you? Everything looks the same."

"I don't know," I said with a shrug. "I just do." I froze then, listening hard. "Uh, Eden?" I said softly. "I think we're right at the edge of the woods that borders the house. I think I can hear Sam and Dean…listen." She froze too, and I moved closer to her as we listened. Sure enough, two familiar voices floated toward us. Shaking, we moved forward again toward a large bush, and after crouching down behind it we peered carefully through the branches.

Sure enough there was the yard, and there was the house. And there was Sam and Dean, both standing near the Impala. Dean had his back to the woods and was talking on his cell phone, while Sam stood facing the woods, watching it intensely with his hands on his hips. I swallowed hard. He looked pissed, but he also looked worried. As Eden and I continued to crouch there out of sight we caught what Dean was saying to whoever he was talking to on the phone.

"I don't know where the hell they are," he snarled, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Eden cringe. "I don't know when they left, but it had to have been sometime early this morning. Sam and I have been looking for five hours now." Dean paused as he listened to whoever was on the phone. "No, it doesn't look like anyone or anything took them. They just walked out the damn door. The kitchen shows signs on being rummaged through, like they packed food to take with them. Like I said, they just flat out left. They didn't even take their cell phones with them."

Again Dean paused, but not as long as before. "Yeah, I know Bobby," he said next, and I flinched, feeling bad that Bobby had been called and drug into the mess. No doubt he was worried sick.

"Is he coming?" Sam suddenly asked, turning away from the woods to look at his brother.

"What?" Dean said, sounding distracted. "Yeah, he's comin'. Jo and Ellen are too. Turns out none of them are too far from here. They'll be here in a half hour."

Dean continued on talking to Bobby, and Sam stood there and watched him. "Eden," I whispered, and she jumped slightly. "We have to go out, show ourselves. We can't let them call Bobby, Jo and Ellen out here for nothing. And anyway if they all come, we'll have five pissed off people all over us instead of just two." Of course those two were bad enough on their own. But I didn't see why I had to mention that to Eden. "We have to go out, Eden," I said again.

Eden said nothing, but she turned her head ever so slowly and stared at me with wide, scared eyes. "Are you _serious_?" she finally said after a few more seconds of stunned silence.

I sighed deeply. "Come on Eden, you know we have to. We can't stay here. They'll find us soon any way. Look, I know you'd rather put it off as long as we can, and I wish we could. But you know we can't. It'll only make things worse if we do."

She was quiet for a moment and then looked back out at the yard. Dean was still talking to Bobby, and Sam was still watching. "Yeah okay," Eden finally said with a deep sigh. "Fine, let's get it over with."

"Okay," I said, and suddenly my heart was slamming against my rib cage and I broke out in a nervous sweat. This was going to suck. Taking a deep breath that did nothing to calm me, I reached out and took Eden's hand. We both stood up. "On the count of three," I whispered. Eden nodded. "One…two…_three_," I said, forcing the last word out. I moved to my left, going around the bush, pulling Eden along with me. Two steps later we were in the yard, standing there staring at Sam and Dean. For a moment neither one even noticed we were there. It was a terrible, suspenseful moment, and then suddenly Sam turned back around. His eyes locked onto mine immediately and held. The woods around us suddenly went silent, as though every living creature in it was holding their breath, waiting to see what would happen.

Shivering, Eden let go of my hand and then wrapped her arms around herself while I continued to stand there, frozen to the spot.

"Dean," Sam called out, his tone deadly quiet. "Tell Bobby never mind. Tell him to tell Ellen and Jo too. They're back."

At these words Dean whipped around, and when he saw us he swore loudly and viciously. Cringing again, Eden took a few steps back toward the woods as though she was considering running back in there and hiding. "Bobby!" Dean half shouted into the phone. "Never mind. We've got them. Let Ellen and Jo know, will ya? No, they came out of the woods." Dean paused as he listened to Bobby, keeping his furious blue eyes on Eden. "I don't know, but I'm going to find out," he told Bobby. "Thanks Bobby, talk to you later." With that he flipped his phone closed, and then a terrible, cold silence filled the yard. It was as though winter had come to us early and brought forth a harsh freeze.

Then suddenly Dean started walking, and when he reached Sam his brother fell in step with him. Eden and I stood there, wide eyed, and watched as the two pissed off men stomped their way closer to us.

"Are you okay?" Dean snapped at Eden, not pausing at all in his angry stomping.

"Yes," Eden squeaked, her voice shaking like a leaf.

"Are you okay, Rivan?" Sam demanded of me, still moving along with Dean.

"Yeah," I told him, cringing a little closer to Eden.

"Where have you two been?" Sam asked next, his tone still deadly quiet. They stopped suddenly, a few feet from us, and for several tense seconds we stood there and stared at each other. Finally I answered Sam.

"In the woods," I said in a tiny voice. "We…went for a walk."

"A walk?" Dean bellowed. "A _walk_? You've been gone for hours!" he shouted, his eyes still on Eden.

I was the one that answered though. "We got lost," I said in an even tinier voice.

That seemed to be the breaking point for Sam and Dean. The next thing I knew the yard was full of angry bellows, much swearing, and alarming promises to take everything from a switch to a strap to our asses. Dean lunged at Eden, still cussing, and she shrieked and ran, not back into the woods, but off to her right toward the front of the house. I didn't see what happened next with them because suddenly I was running too because Sam had shot toward me, though his angry charge lacked cuss words. His anger was now the quiet, intense, cold anger that was a clear signal that I was in deep shit. I knew, of course, that no matter how mad he was at me Sam would never seriously hurt me. But that didn't mean that what he was going to do was going to be pleasant. So half wailing, I ran the opposite way Eden had gone, more toward the Impala. But I didn't get very far. A strong hand clamped down on my upper arm, dragging me to a stop.

I stopped and spun around to look up into Sam's furious eyes and I opened my mouth, intending on pleading with him, but I didn't get the chance. The next thing I knew Sam had picked me up, tossed me over his shoulder, and then started toward the house. Horrified and a little scared of my position I clung to the back of his shirt, my wide eyes taking in the fast moving ground as Sam moved closer to the house. Somewhere to my right I heard Eden yelling and judging from what she was saying she was in the same position I was in. Slung over a broad, muscular shoulder and being carted like a sack of potatoes back to the house.

Sam reached the front door first, shoved it open, and crossed both the salt lines in one step. Then without pause he headed for the stairs. Whimpering, I pressed the palms of my hands flat on his back and pushed up, trying to see. I had managed to push myself up far enough to see Dean coming in behind us and I watched as he slammed the door closed and locked it. Then Sam stopped and the next thing I knew I was on my feet. I swayed a little and my hand flew out, grasping Sam's strong arm to steadying myself. Once I had I looked up at him, and was very sorry indeed that I had. Crap, he looked _so_ pissed. Flinching, I looked away from him, noticing that Dean was standing next to him and that Eden was on her feet as well, standing in front of Dean.

"Get upstairs," Dean growled at us, for it seemed Sam was too mad at the moment to talk. "Both of you. Go to your rooms and don't come out. Now!" he shouted, causing both me and Eden to jump. Without a word Eden turned and charged up the stairs, but I hesitated for a moment. I looked at Sam again, felt the color drain from my face, and just as quickly as Eden had I turned and ran up the stairs. I hurried to my room, and beyond the door I could see that Eden had already reached her bedroom and closed her door. I longed to go in there and give as well as receive comfort, but I didn't dare. Shaking from head to toe, I went into my own room and closed the door. Once I had I backed away, keeping my eyes on it as though I expected Sam to fling it open at any moment and come in to deal with me. But I had forgotten until that moment what Eden had overheard more than a week ago. When the time came to dish out punishments, it would be done one at a time. If Dean decided Eden was first, the plan was for Sam to take me off somewhere and give them some privacy. And if Sam decided to deal with me first, then Dean would take Eden off so we could have our own privacy.

For several minutes I just stood there in the middle of the room, my whole body trembling. Then I couldn't stand it anymore. I couldn't stand staying in here by myself, waiting for something to happen. So stupid me crossed the room, opened the door quietly, and slipped out. I started for Eden's closed door, and then I stopped. I heard loud voices down stairs, coming from the kitchen. It seemed Sam and Dean was having an argument. My need for comfort momentarily forgotten, I headed for the stairs and very slowly started down them. I could hear what was being said long before I reached the bottom of the stairs. They were both in the kitchen having it out.

"I'm tellin' you Sam, I'm doing it now!" Dean practically bellowed at his younger brother. "They've gone too far and we've waited too long to take care of it! I'm not waiting anymore! It's obvious that they're okay. As okay as they're gonna get, anyway. Okay enough to get what's comin' to them! So get Rivan out of here now. I'll call you when it's done."

"Dean, would you stop and think for a moment?" Sam snapped back. "You can't do it right now. You're too pissed off! If you do it now you'll hurt Eden more than she deserves. That's why I'm not going to deal with Rivan right now, or even later tonight! They deserve to be punished, I agree with that. It's time we went ahead and did it. Maybe if we had done it earlier they wouldn't have pulled this crap. I don't know. But they've made it clear it needs to be done as soon as possible. But that time is not now. Dean, you're thinking about doing something that I know you're gonna regret later, something that will cause you pain and might even ruin your relationship with Eden. Please, just wait. Wait until you've calmed down." A long, drawn out silenced filled the kitchen. By this point I had reached the bottom of the stairs and I had snuck off to the right to hide behind a large potted plant that stood near the door that led into the living room. Beyond that was the kitchen but I didn't dare get any closer. I didn't need to anyway. They were both talking loud enough for me to hear them.

"Fine," Dean suddenly snapped. "Fine. I'll wait. But I'm not waiting until tomorrow. I'll wait until tonight. That'll give me enough time to calm down."

"Are you sure about that?" Sam asked, sounding skeptical.

"Yes Sam, I am. I'm not waiting any longer than tonight. It was a mistake to wait as long as we did. We were too damn soft with them. Look what it got us! They snuck off and took a walk in the damn woods! Do you realize what could have happened to them out there? Those blood sucking sickos could have snatched them up and we would have never known! And we probably would have never seen them again!"

"I know Dean," Sam said, sounding a bit calmer than Dean, but not much. "I know what could have happened."

"Good, great," Dean growled. "Damn them. Damn us! If we had whipped their asses a long time ago they wouldn't have done this!"

"Maybe," Sam said. "Maybe not. But you're right. We can't wait any longer. Not after what they pulled today. I'm not going to lose Rivan," he added in a quieter voice, but I could still hear him pretty well. "She needs to understand that she can't just run off and do whatever she wants to. She's going to understand that, and she's going to learn." He said it with such a dreadful finality that I actually flinched hard enough to nearly knock my head into the wall beside me. Thankfully though I managed not to.

"Good," Dean said. "You need to be fully prepared to do what you need to in order to catch and keep her attention."

"Don't worry," Sam assured him, and his tone went cold. "I know how to handle her."

I was still shivering at the tone of his voice when Dean spoke next. "So I'm gonna take care of Eden first. Tonight. Let's see, it's…ten minutes after one now. I'm gonna need more than a few hours to calm down so why don't you take Rivan out around seven."

I heard Sam sigh. "Yeah okay, that's fine."

"Where are you gonna take her?" Dean wanted to know.

"I don't know," Sam said, sounding distracted. "Maybe out to eat. If she'll even eat."

"Make her," Dean said simply, and I longed to run in there and knock him upside his head. "If you don't start being tough on her now she'll never learn to listen to you."

Sam was quiet for a moment. "Yeah," he finally said with a heavy sigh. "I know. I don't look forward to being tough on her but I know it has to be done."

"Yeah, it does," Dean agreed. "I guess I better call Bobby back, let him know the girls are okay. For now," he added darkly, and I heard him punching buttons on his cell phone. No longer interested in listening to the rest of the conversation, I hurried upstairs as quickly and as quietly as I could. Once I reached my room I carefully closed the door, and then scooped up my cell phone. Throwing myself across the bed on my stomach, I started texting.

_Eden!_ I sent. A few seconds later she replied. Eden and I were great at texting fast and not using the terrible text speech that most people used when texting each other.

_What? Are you okay?_

_Yeah for now. You?_

_Yeah as okay as I can get._

_Tell me about it. Listen I was just downstairs and heard Sam and Dean talking._

_You snuck downstairs?_

_Yeah just listen. They were talking about…about you know what. It looks like you are going to be first and it is going to happen tonight. _For several moments I didn't get any reply from Eden. I felt bad for telling her, but I thought she ought to know and be prepared. Finally after another minute of silence I got a text back from her.

_You are sure it is going to be tonight?_

_Yes. We are supposed to leave around seven. Sam is going to take me out maybe to eat. That is what he told Dean. Eden I am sorry I don't know what to do._

_Nothing. There is nothing you can do. Do not fight Sam when he comes to get you tonight. Just go with him. We knew this was going to happen eventually. Listen I am tired I think I will see if I can get some sleep. I will need all the strength I can get before tonight. You should try and rest too._

_Okay. I hope you get some sleep talk to you later._

_Love ya best friend of mine._

I smiled and tears filled my eyes. _Love ya too. _After that I got nothing and I sat up, looking around my room. The idea of actually falling asleep seemed unlikely, but after pulling off my shoes I tried anyway. I guess I was more tired than I thought, due to such a stressful morning, because within minutes I was fast asleep.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Six hours later: Eden's POV<span>**

I sat completely still on my bed as I listened to Rivan fight Sam all the way down the hall. I shook my head softly. Damn. I told that girl not to fight him when he came to get her! But to be honest I wasn't surprised she was doing it anyway. I would have done the same thing in her place. In fact I probably would when it was her turn to face the music. Out in the hall everything had gone quiet, and I wondered if Sam had paused to threaten Rivan if she didn't stop having a fit. More than likely he had. Seconds later I thought I heard Rivan say something in a much softer voice than she had been using only seconds before and that confirmed my guess. I heard Sam's deep voice rumble something at her, and then I heard footsteps as they went downstairs. After that I heard nothing for a few minutes, and then I heard the unmistakable sound of the Impala coming to life. Its growl lessened as Sam got it turned around, and then I heard it take off.

Complete silence took over after that. Terrible silence. It was the kind of silence that was heavy and expectant, and it pushed down on me hard. I sat there as still as a statue and stared at my bedroom door. I swallowed hard and my heart started to pick up speed. Any moment now Dean would come through that door and spank my ass until I couldn't sit for a month or two. A surge of panic suddenly came to life in my stomach, and it was like a feather down there doing the conga, tickling and annoying and tormenting until I could barely stand myself. As I sat there wrestling with my many emotions I consider locking myself in the bathroom and then I actually laughed out loud at the idea. Dean was an expert lock picker. He'd have that sucker open in no time and I'd probably get into even more trouble for trying to prolong my punishment. I flinched at that word. Like I had told Rivan weeks ago, I had not been spanked since I was thirteen. And honestly I don't think you could even call what my mom gave me a spanking. It didn't even hurt. Mom was never big on corporal punishment. She'd once told me that her dad had been a big believer in spanking but that he had always taken it too far and what he wound up doing to my poor mom was pure abuse. Her father had also been a heavy drinker.

So yeah, I didn't have much experience with spankings, but I knew already the one I was about to get was going to be way worse than what mom had given me all those years ago. I also knew that Dean would not go too far and hurt me to the point of abuse. But that really didn't make me feel better because I knew what I was going to get was not going to be fun. I glanced at the clock on my night stand. Ten minutes after seven. The feather in my stomach had gone from the conga to the flamingo dance. I began to twist my hands together and then tears suddenly filled my eyes. I blinked in surprise. Wait just a minute! What the hell? Tears? Seriously? What had happened to the girl that had sworn she would cuss Dean out when this time rolled around? Well right now she was sitting here melting into a cry baby and nervously watching the clock. Idiot!

Strengthened by my sudden spike of defiance, I sat up straighter on the bed and glared at the door, daring it with my eyes to open. Yeah you heard me. Go on! Open up. Open up and let that handsome sucker come in here and see what happens. Come on, come on, get in here and get it over with. I double dog dare you—

Suddenly I froze in mid thought as I caught the sound of heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. My defiance and braveness slipped a notch or two. I listened as the footsteps reached the top of the stairs and then started down the hall toward my bedroom door. My rebel emotions lost about ten notches each in less than half a second. The footsteps stopped as Dean reached my door and my eyes bugged as my door knob started turning. A rush of cuss words flooded my mind as the door swung open, but not one got past my lips as Dean entered the room. I didn't budge from my spot on the bed but my heart was trying to claw its way out and that feather in my stomach was now performing every dance ever invented. Then suddenly I couldn't take it anymore. What was left of my defiance and bravery completely bottomed out, and like the wimp that I am I shot off the bed and hauled it to the bathroom. I slammed it shut and had it locked in probably half a second flat and then I backed away from the door, breathing hard.

For a moment there was just silence, and then Dean's voice cut through it like a knife. "Eden Regina Sterling, you've got exactly three seconds to get your ass out of that bathroom! So help me if I have to pick that damn lock and drag you out, there's a nice long yard stick downstairs in the office with your name on it! One!" he roared. Again my eyes bugged. A yard stick? Was he serious? Probably. I cringed and let loose with a muttered string of cuss words. "TWO!" Dean bellowed next. Damn it, why did I only get three seconds? Most people got five!

I considered staying put and letting him pick the lock just for the hell of it, but I decided it probably wouldn't be worth it. So reluctantly, _very _reluctantly, I hurried to the door and unlocked it before Dean could bellow the final number. I shoved the door open and actually stormed out, making myself look as mad as I could muster. "What happened to five?" I snarled at him, putting my hands on my hips.

Dean was standing there in the middle of my room, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes blazing. When I snapped out my question though a flicker of confusion danced across his face. "Five?" he repeated. "Five what?"

"Five seconds!" I half shrieked as I threw my hands in the air. "You only gave me three seconds to get out of the bathroom! It's supposed to be five seconds! That's the most used number in a situation like that!"

Dean snorted. "Not in my world, sweetheart. Five seconds is more like Sam's style. I'm not Sam. Hell, you were lucky I gave you three seconds. Next time I won't," he added, his eyes flashing again. "Remember that."

"Oh yes," I said, my tone heavy with sarcasm. "That will be on the top of my list of things I deem most important to remember."

"I can promise after tonight it will be," Dean informed me, and the tone of his voice caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up. "Now drop your shorts and get your ass over here," he added as he turned and headed for the bed. His order caused that feather in my stomach to spontaneously reproduce all on its own. Now instead of one feather down there I had about a million. Drop my shorts? He couldn't be serious. But as I watched him sit down on the edge of my bed and look back at me, I could see he was _very_ serious. Hell.

"Eden!" he suddenly barked, and I couldn't help but jump. "Take your shorts off and come here. Now."

I stiffened. "No! Are you crazy? I'm not taking my shorts off!"

"Either you take em' off or I'll do it," he told me. I could see the anger growing in his eyes and I knew he was dead serious.

But I wasn't done being defiant. Or maybe the better word was stupid. "Bite me!" I spat at him, both horrified and elated at my own daring.

He smirked. "I would really love to, sweetheart. You know that." He actually flashed me a devilish, flirty smile for a brief second and then he was back to serious so quick my head almost spun. "But I didn't come in here to have fun," he continued, his tone so hard I had to wonder if I had just imagined that flirty look. "I came in here to blister your ass because you've earned it about a hundred times over! So for the last time take those damn shorts off and do it NOW!" he roared the last word and I cringed but didn't move. Swearing, Dean shot to his feet and started toward me, fast. I let out another shriek and backed away, my huge eyes locked onto his.

He kept moving and I backed away even further and as a result ran into the dresser behind me. Without thinking anything through I turned and grabbed the nearest thing off the top of the dresser. My fingers found my hair brush and I turned and threw it right at Dean's head. I watched with wide eyes as it sailed across the room, heading straight for my pissed off boyfriend. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it, Dean stepped back and caught the flying brush as easily as one would catch a stray fuzzy floating around. For one terrible, quiet moment he stood there and looked at the brush, and then slowly he looked at me.

"Seriously?" he asked loudly, holding the brush up. "Sweetheart, you just threw something at me that would be perfect to tan your ass with. This is an actual wooden brush, isn't? Real wood?" he asked, seeming to be talking more to himself than to me at that moment. He studied the brush and I remained frozen in place, horrified at what I had done. "Yeah it is," he finally decided as he looked back at me. "I heard these things hurt like hell when applied to the ass. I wouldn't know from personal experience. Dad never popped me with one of these. I usually got the belt. But hey, it's a good night to find out what one of these babies can do," he added, and his tone turned dark and deadly and he began to advance toward me again.

Finally I snapped out of my shock. And I'm ashamed to say I didn't go back into my kick ass mode. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I wailed with all my might. "NO DEAN PLEASE!" I howled, desperate. "Dean don't spank me with that, please I'm sorry, I'm sorry I threw it at you! I'll cooperate now! I'll take my shorts off!"

"You're damn right you will!" Dean snapped at me as he kept coming. I made a move to try to get around him but he caught me quickly, grabbing my upper arm and pulling me back, though not roughly. "Get em' off now, Eden!" he ordered me harshly.

"Okay okay!" I wailed. "I'm taking them off! Dean, stop please! I'll take them off, I'll take them off!" I pleaded, and again those tears sprung into my eyes.

Dean paused to stare at me and I noticed how his eyes had turned a few shades darker. "Get it done then," he snapped at me, letting me go and folding his arms across his chest again as he waited. He kept the brush in his hand while he stood there glaring at me.

I stared at him for a few seconds and then I brought my trembling hands to the waist band of my shorts, keeping my eyes on that hair brush as I did. Trying hard not to whimper I slowly began to lower my shorts. Unfortunately they came down easily because they were just cotton ones. I had put on my pjs earlier. Now I was sorry I had. Jean shorts were a bit harder to pull off, and at least I would have had a few extra seconds while trying to wrestle them down. I felt my face turn a bright red as I pushed the shorts passed my knees, and then I just let them fall. Once they had hit the floor I stepped out of them, shaking all over now. With my face as bright as a Christmas tree I folded my arms across my chest and stared down at the floor as the tears grew heavier in my eyes.

"There now," Dean said after a moment's pause. "That wasn't so bad, was it? Or at least it wouldn't have been if you had done it the first time I told you to. But since you didn't and threw a tantrum instead, guess what? You get ten extra smacks for disobeying a direct order, and ten more for throwing your brush at me."

My head snapped up at that and my mouth fell open. "What? That's not fair!" I yelled at him, well aware that I sounded just like a whiny little kid.

"Well I've got news for you sweetheart," Dean snarled back, and my heart leapt into my throat. "My rules and my orders don't have to be fair. They just have to be followed. When you don't follow them, you pay the price." Before I could say anything to that he suddenly grabbed my arm and turned me around. Using that solid wooden brush he hauled off and gave me four hard smacks with it and I shrieked as the pain exploded across my ass. The brush was hard and heavy and it did indeed hurt like hell. I burst into tears as Dean let me go. "Just so you know, that wasn't part of the extra twenty you earned," he told me as he turned and went back over to the bed. Before he sat down again he tossed my hair brush on the floor and it landed with a loud whack near the little table by the bed. I was surprised to see him toss it but of course I was very glad he did. "Get over here," Dean suddenly ordered next, jabbing his finger toward the floor.

Despite the little tanning I just got I felt my temper flare. But the presence of the brush on the floor near Dean helped me to keep my mouth shut and I didn't cuss him out. I did, however, give him the worst look I could conjure up as I stomped over to him, my bare feet making dull thuds as I slammed them into the carpeted floor. But by the time I reached him I had lost some of my flare, and once I had come to a stop a few more tears had made their way down my cheeks. Dean didn't seem to notice or care about my tears. Or maybe he was just determined to ignore them. Without saying a word he grabbed my hand and jerked me over to where I was standing in front of him. Then he pulled me forward until I was standing between his legs and then he let go of my hand. I stared at a patch of flannel on his shirt as his hands circled my waist and then came to rest on my hips.

"Eden," he said, giving my hips a little squeeze. "Look at me."

For a moment I didn't move as my rebellious nature demanded that I not obey while the logical part of me told me not to be stupid and just do as I was told unless I wanted to make this much worse than it already was. In the end the logical side of me won and slowly I shifted my eyes until they locked onto his. For several seconds we just looked at each other and then finally he spoke.

"You do know the main reason why I'm gonna spank you, right?" he asked, his voice rough and firm.

I responded to his tone and his question in a way I should not have. "Of course," I replied, and the acid dripped from my voice. "The main reason why you're going to _beat_ me is because you're a barbaric ass hole." The last word was barely out of my mouth before Dean had me jerked around and over his left knee. I screamed bloody murder as my hands clutched his leg and my scream rose to a higher pitch when he suddenly threw his right leg over both of mine, pinning them down efficiently in one swift movement. My feet were struggling to find purchase on the floor so I could push against it in hopes of getting myself out of this position, but Dean had me so far over his knee that my face was inches from the carpet and my feet were sticking straight out and doing nothing but flailing around uselessly. I opened my mouth to scream again but before I could Dean's hand cracked down hard across my ass. I gasped loudly instead, and when Dean delivered another harsh blow I finally got my scream out.

"You think I'm beating you?" Dean asked as he landed two more sharp blows, one on each cheek. "If I really planned on doing that I would have taken that big ass paddle off the wall in the den!" I let out a wail as he smacked me again, though part of that wail was also in response to what he had said. I knew what he was talking about. There was a large, wooden paddle hanging on the wall downstairs in the den. The handle was short but the actual paddle part was big and thick, and I guess it could be used to deliver a spanking if anyone got it in their mind to do so. But it wasn't made for that.

"That's not what it's there for!" I stupidly snapped at him when he paused and rested his hand on my back. "It's there for decorative purposes only!"

"I know," Dean said easily. "Imagine the decorations it would leave on your ass if I used it on you."

I shrieked in anger and fear at that, and then all of sudden I balled my right hand into a fist and hauled off and socked him on the calf of his leg as hard as I could. I heard him inhale sharply and then swear loudly. I fully expected another good smack on my ass for that move, but it didn't come. Instead the room grew silent and cold and I jerked in surprise when Dean leaned over and whispered in my ear.

"If you do that again I _will_ go get that paddle," he told me, his tone deadly and more serious than a heart attack. "And I swear to you that you won't be able to sit down at all for an entire month. You understand me, sweetheart?"

For a few seconds I said nothing, and then I burst into tears. "Yes," I moaned, hating myself for breaking down already. What a wuss.

Dean was quiet for a few more seconds and then he spoke. "Great. It's nice to know you and I are on the same page again," he growled. He shifted me slightly and tightened his grip on my waist. "Now I'm gonna ask you again. You do know why you're being spanked, right?"

I swallowed hard and closed my eyes. "Yes," I said softly.

"Good. Tell me why, Eden."

Well, my answer to that was very interesting and I'm sorry to say that I won't be repeating it because it was just beyond wrong. I will say that it had something to do with him being a mean, mutated ape who liked the color pink and thought dancing with Barney was fun. Don't ask me where I got the pink part at, but the whole Barney part shot through my mind at that moment because I remembered Sam once saying that Dean had liked Barney when he was little, and whenever that was brought up it embarrassed Dean. So yeah, that's pretty much what I said, though I promise I did not say it that nicely. So after I finally uttered the last few remaining insults the room fell silent again and the atmosphere grew so cold I really expected to see frost developing on the walls. The horrible silence rolled on and way too late I began to regret everything I'd just said.

My whole body began to tremble again and when Dean finally spoke it startled me so much I let out a little whimper. But if Dean heard it he didn't care. "Okay," he said quietly, and I swear it would have been better if he had yelled. That quiet tone was just plain scary. "I can see this is gonna take a while." The scary factor in his tone got worse with each word he spoke, and by the time he was done all those millions of feathers in my stomach migrated straight up to my heart and I started to struggle. It did me no good at all. I wasn't going anywhere until Dean decided to let me up.

Again Dean's hand slammed down on my ass, catching the center of it, and I was quickly reminded that the only thing that was between me and his hand was a pair of flimsy panties. It didn't offer much protection and I let out a whimpering moan as Dean's hand fell again and again.

"Oh yeah," he suddenly said, not pausing at all in the task of turning my ass a cherry red. "Just so you know this spanking is for everything that you've done just in the last few minutes. Running and hiding in the bathroom, your refusal to take off your shorts when I told you to, throwing your brush at me, and all of your smart ass answers. Everything. Like I said, the refusal to take your shorts off earned you ten, and the brush throwing earned you another ten. With everything else added you've earned a total of thirty-five smacks. Once those are done we'll start with the original spanking and go from there."

The whole time he'd been talking he just kept peppering my ass with sharp, stinging smacks, and that kept most of my attention. But finally after a moment his meaning set in, and I let out a wail that actually caused him to stop for a moment. "Dean no, that isn't fair!" I wailed, trying desperately to wriggle out of his strong hold. "That's mean, you can't do that!"

"Sweetheart, I think you'll find I can do whatever I want," he snapped at me. "And if you want someone to blame for the situation you're in now you can just look at yourself. All you had to do was cooperate and we'd be at least half way done by now. But you had to go be a brat and pull all of your shit. That's not my fault. That's _your_ fault."

"But Dean I—OW!" I shrieked as his hand came crashing down again. It didn't stop him and for a while I kept up with my yelling, and then I finally went into the cussing. The spanking went on and I kept up the cussing, and every blow seemed more painful than the one before it. Pretty soon I was crying again and withering around, trying my hardest to escape Dean's strong hand. But he had me right where he wanted me and again I had to face the fact that I just couldn't do anything about that.

I didn't keep track of how many smacks I got but it seemed to be a lot more than thirty-five. Finally though he stopped and I went limp, crying pitifully. "Dean please, no more!" I begged. "I don't want anymore, please don't do it anymore!"

"I really don't care what you want Eden," he informed me, and I could tell by his tone that he meant it. "This isn't about what you want. It's about what you _need_. You earned every bit of this and you're gonna get all of it. So now that we've got the extra stuff taken care of we can get back to the original reason why you're being spanked. And that would be because…let's see here. Oh yeah. The big reason for all of this is because you decided to run off with Rivan, which left you both completely unprotected from a pack of vampires that was hunting you two and would have killed you both if you'd had the ring with you when they caught up with you. Right?"

My mind spinning and my heart racing, the only reply I gave to that was a moan and a little whimper as I braced my hands on the floor. Only seconds had passed before Dean suddenly hauled off and smacked the hell out of me. I howled in shock and pain and his voice cut through my wails. "I asked you a question Eden," he growled at me. "When I ask you a question you damn well better give me an answer. Do you understand me?"

"Yeeees!" I moaned out, moving my hands off the floor and clutching his leg again. My ass was throbbing and burning and according to him he hadn't even gotten into the spanking yet.

"Good. Great. So you agree with everything I just said?"

"Yes," I said again as quickly as possible and with a loud sniffle.

"Good," he replied. I expected more scolding but instead he started up the spanking again. I tensed up and cried and begged, but he didn't let up at all. He went from one cheek to the other, giving them both a lot of attention. Then suddenly he stopped again and to my surprise he loosened his hold on me just a little. "Lift your hips up," he ordered me.

This threw me. "W-what?" I stuttered out in confusion.

"Lift your hips up!" he snapped.

"What for?"

"Because I told you to!" And I got five sharp smacks for not doing as I was told.

"Dean, owwwwwww!" I protested through my tears, but at the same time I lifted my hips up, just a little. In one quick movement Dean grabbed the waist band of my panties and pulled them down, and now there was nothing but my bare ass laid out before him. As soon as he had the panties down he tightened his hold on me again, probably sensing I was about to have a fit. And I did too. Dean had seen my bare ass before, but this was different. This was punishment and it was just plain embarrassing. I screamed and struggled and pleaded with him not to spank me any further, but of course he totally ignored me. Only now he was spanking me much harder. His rough hand came down over and over, heating my naked skin in a way I could never have imagined. I twisted and sobbed and begged but still it seemed to do me no good.

"Stop Dean, stop!" I wailed as he suddenly changed from spanking my cheeks to spanking the tender skin a little lower than that, where butt met thigh. "Dean it huuuuurts!" I screamed as he kept on.

"No joke?" he snarled sarcastically, actually stopping again. "What did you think it would feel like, Eden? Did you think it was gonna tickle?" Before I could even think of a response to that he started up again, and I was back to crying and pleading with him. My pleas landed on deaf ears and as he spanked he launched into a scolding as he continued to punish me.

"You scared the shit out of me when you ran off Eden," he snarled as his hand fell relentlessly. "You know that? Do you have any idea what you put me through? You could have been killed! Those whole two weeks those damn vampires had you I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I couldn't think straight! All I could do was think about you and what they might be doing to you! Do you have any idea how that feels? How could you be so stupid? How could you do something like that to me? Day and night I felt like someone was sticking a knife in my heart, over and over. Eden, what I went through those during those two weeks was worse than what I went through in hell!"

Okay, that right there just took the fight out of me. I knew, of course, that Dean had literally spent time in hell once. He was gone for four months but down in hell it had been more like thirty years. What he had experienced had been the worst. Or so I thought. Apparently I had put him through much worse by running off. I could feel my heart breaking into a million pieces and I started to sob so hard my whole body shook. "I'm sorry," I moaned between my sobs. "Dean, I'm so sorry! I'll never do it again, I promise!"

The only response I got for that was two more smacks, and then Dean paused again. For a few minutes he said nothing as I laid there and sobbed, and then he sighed deeply. "You're right sweetheart," he replied, and now he sounded tired. "You won't ever do it again. Not when I'm done with you. I'll raise blisters on your ass if that's what it takes to get through to you. But I'm gonna get through to you. So help me Eden, you're gonna learn." He gave me five more burning smacks and then he stopped again.

"There's something I gotta know," he said as my tears flowed like a raging river. "Why the hell did you and Rivan go off in the damn woods this morning?"

It took me several minutes before I could offer a reply that he could understand. "I just wanted to get out of the house for a little while," I sobbed out.

"You wanted to get out of the house for a while?" Dean repeated, disbelief and rage vibrating in his strong voice. "Damn it Eden, you don't seem to realize how serious our situation is! Vampires are after us and they're damn serious about catching us! Mainly you and Rivan! That means you can't go outside for any reason at all! Why do you think Sam and I made that rule about not leaving the house? Because we're afraid you'll get taken again! Eden, I know you're not stupid! Sam and I don't just sit around and make up rules because we feel like being jerks! We make them for a reason! Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

I squeezed my eyes shut and was silent for a moment. "Yes," I finally cried out. "I understand you."

"Are you really sure about that? You completely understand that you can't go outside by yourself, or with Rivan, because it's too dangerous?"

I sniffled. "Yes, I do understand that Dean," I promised him, hoping maybe my spanking was over. Ha! What a dreamer I was.

"Well then that tells me the only reason why you're still not listening to me is simply because you feel like being a little brat," Dean growled at me. "Right?"

I didn't answer right away, mainly because I didn't want to confirm his question. In the end my main reason for my continued defiance was simply because I'm rebellious and I like to get my way all the time. For obvious reasons I did not want to share this with Dean. But I stayed quiet for too long and all it earned me was four more smacks on my already sore ass. "OWWWWWWW!" I howled. "Yes!" I answered frantically. "I understand why you don't want me to go outside and the only reason why I did it was because I was mad and was being a brat!" I shrieked out the last bit of my confession and then started to sob again.

Dean said absolutely nothing, and for several minutes he just let me lie there and cry. He waited silently until I started to calm down a little and then he spoke. "Come on, get up," he ordered, and he took his leg off of mine and then helped me stand up. I was shaking all over once I got to my feet, and I covered my face with my hands as I continued to cry. My panties had slipped down my legs as I'd gotten up, and though the shirt I was wearing was long enough to offer me decent cover I felt embarrassed standing there with no panties on.

Whimpering, I wiped my eyes and looked up at Dean as he stood. He folded his arms across his chest and stared down at me, his eyes still hard and stern. "A-are w-w-we done?" I asked, half sobbing the words out.

"Hardly," Dean said with a snort. "After that confession you just made? I can see you need a bit more," he continued, and then his hand went to his belt buckle. "Don't bother pulling those panties up," he added as he began to unbuckle his belt. I swayed on the spot as he did and it suddenly felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. I stumbled backwards, my hands up in an attempt to ward him off.

"No no no, Dean no PLEASE!" I cried out as the belt jingled as he got the buckle undone. I froze and watched in horror as he pulled it out of his belt loops next, and the sound it made caused my stomach to tighten, and my heart began to go crazy. I opened and closed my mouth several times as I watched Dean fold the belt over, holding it in one hand. I couldn't move or speak as he reached out and grasped my arm and forced me to turn and face the bed.

"I want you to lie down on your stomach," he ordered me, motioning to the bed with the belt. "Right across the bed," he added when I merely looked at him with huge eyes. He stared back at me, showing no signs of mercy. I didn't move a muscle for another few seconds, and then finally I broke down. I burst into loud, screeching sobs and as I did I ran forward and threw my arms around him.

I lost any kind of pride or dignity at that point. Not that I really had that much left anyway. I also suddenly realized that I had completely lost my panties at some point but I didn't care at the moment. All I cared about was convincing Dean not to go through with this. So I blubbered out my pleas and my wails in one big rush. "Please Dean, please don't do this to me!" I sobbed into his shirt. "I won't ever do anything wrong again, I promise, I swear! Don't spank me with your belt, please don't! I've been punished enough, I get the point and I've learned my lesson, I swear I have! Please don't do it, PLEASE!" I added a few more choked pleas and then I just cried as I clung to him and waited.

For a moment Dean didn't respond, and when he finally did his tone made it very clear that none of my pleas for mercy had worked on him. "Eden, right now you're getting' fifteen with this belt. Nothing is gonna change my mind on that. I planned on giving you five at first but with all of your fits and what you just confessed to I can see five won't be enough. That's why you're getting fifteen. So here's how it's gonna go. If you don't let me go right now and lie down across the bed, you'll get twenty. It's your choice, sweetheart. Fifteen or twenty. Make up your mind."

I looked up at him as my heart plunged into my stomach and I let out a wail that would put a banshee to shame. But I didn't let go of him and he was true to his word.

"Twenty it is, then," he told me, and I stopped crying and stared at him in horror. He looked me right in the eye and said very quietly, "Wanna go for twenty-five?"

It felt like someone had reached in and crushed my heart. Quickly I let go of him and, sobbing loudly, I turned back to the bed. My body was shaking again as I crawled onto it and then lied down on my stomach. I got two handfuls of the bedspread and waited as I sobbed my heart out.

"Move down toward the edge of the bed a little," Dean told me, and I jerked in surprise. I was so beside myself that for a moment I didn't understand what he meant, and then I felt his hand on my leg, right above the bend of my knee. "Eden," he said, patting my leg firmly. "Move down toward the edge. Just slide your body down a bit. Move toward me." Whimpering, I did as he told me and he kept his hand on my leg as I forced myself to move. As a result of my movement my shirt got pulled up, conveniently baring my ass once more. I started to cry again as I kept going, and then Dean squeezed my leg.

"That's fine, just stop there," he ordered, and I did so. I had not understood why he'd wanted me to do that but now I did. With the way I was positioned on the edge of the bed my ass was sticking up a bit more, making it a better target. God help me.

For another few seconds Dean kept his hand on my leg and then he gave it another slight squeeze. It almost had a reassuring feel to it, as though he was telling me to hang in there and that it would be over soon. Before I could better appreciate this gesture his hand was gone, and I heard the belt clink again. Oh yeah, just to keep up to date with those feathers I mentioned earlier, not only were they still fluttering around near my heart, but a new batch had been born in my stomach. Wonderful.

Behind me I heard Dean shift and I looked over my shoulder at him to see that he had moved to my left side at an angle, making it to where the belt would land horizontally across my ass. For a moment he didn't move and I watched him. Finally he glanced at me and my lower lip trembled as I gave him the most pitiful look I possibly could. Given the situation I knew it had to be a pretty darn pitiful look.

"Please," I whispered, figuring it wouldn't hurt to try one last time. "Please Dean. Don't. I promise I'll be good. I swear I will be. I'll never run away again and I'll never go outside by myself again. I won't be a brat anymore, I promise!"

"Good," he replied, his tone flat and unmoved. "Then we won't have to do this again." He looked away before I could say anything. I couldn't if I had wanted to. My throat closed up on me and my heart was racing so hard it almost hurt as I too turned away and stared at the bedspread and waited. A few agonizing seconds passed, and then the first blow landed long before I was ready. Though to be honest I doubt I ever would have been ready. It was as terrible as I feared it would be. I inhaled sharply as a line of fire came to life across my ass, and again I got big fistfuls of the bedspread and then I just let it rip with the screams and the tears and the begging.

And that's the way it went for the next several minutes. The blows were hard and fast, and soon I got the feeling that Dean was just as eager to get this over with as I was, and so was trying not to prolong it anymore than he had to. It still seemed to take forever. Clinging to the bedspread as though it were a life line, I threw my head back and cried harder and harder with every lick of the belt. Dean made sure that belt got every area of my ass. Each cheek got several smacks, as did that lower part that seemed to be more tender than anywhere else. I would later learn that this was called my sit spot. Dean paid a lot of attention to that. He'd been dead serious when he'd said I wasn't going to do much sitting once this was all over.

After a while I dropped my head and buried my face into the bedspread and sobbed into that. The belt cracked down. Dean was doing his job and fulfilling his promises very well. I wouldn't be disobeying him again anytime soon, if at all. The mere idea of any kind of misbehavior seemed ridiculous and insane. The sound of the belt landing was loud and seemed to echo off the walls and I pressed my face harder into the bedspread as I cried and wailed. I started to kick my legs frantically as my punishment continued and the heat in my ass turned into a raging blaze. Dean paused for a moment to snap at me as I kicked, ordering me to stop. I did instantly and went limp as he continued roasting my ass with calm determination.

Finally just when I thought I couldn't take anymore it was suddenly over. Dean brought the belt down across my sit spot for the last time, and that blow seemed to be the worst out of all of them. I lifted my head and gave one last, good scream and then I dropped it again and hid my face in the bedspread. As I cried I heard the belt clink again and I figured he must be putting it back on. Once he was done I guess he just stood there and looked at me for a moment as I sobbed. Then suddenly I felt him sit down on the bed beside me. He was still for a moment, and then I felt his hand on my back. I jerked slightly but then went still when he started to rub my back. His big hand moved in slow, soothing circles and gradually I began to calm down.

As I did I came to realize that I couldn't breathe very well due to the fact I still had my face buried in the bedspread. Moaning, I turned my head so I could get some oxygen and I took deep, gulping breaths. Feeling miserable, I opened my eyes a little to see Dean lying next to me, his elbow propped on the bed and his cheek resting on his hand. When I opened my eyes and looked at him I could see all kind of emotions in his eyes. Worry, concern, pity, guilt. But as soon as my eyes met his these emotions disappeared and he looked stern again. I felt my heart sink and I let out a shuddering sigh and closed my eyes again, completely exhausted.

"Eden," Dean suddenly said, and my eyes flew open again. He still looked stern and my heart cringed in disappointment. "You calm enough to listen to me for a few minutes?" he asked quietly. Unable to speak, I only nodded while little whimpers escaped my lips. Dean took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them and looked at me again. "You're grounded for a week," he informed me firmly, and I felt my eyes widen a little. "You're not to leave this room at all except in the mornings for breakfast, and later if you want lunch, and in the evenings for dinner." He paused and our eyes locked and held for several seconds. Finally he spoke again. "If I find you out of this room any other time you'll catch as much hell as you just did. Is that clear?" he asked sternly.

I felt my lips tremble and I had to swallow hard at least four times before I could answer. When I did my voice was shaky and very soft. "Yes," I breathed out before I bit down on my lower lip as the tears threatened to spill again.

Dean took another deep breath. "Good," he said, and reached out to stroke my hair. "I hated doing this to you, Eden. I really did. It gutted me. But I hate the idea of losing you forever even more. I'd rather bust your ass good if it means it'll keep you from being stupid and nearly getting yourself killed. I've lost too many people, Eden. I can't lose you. I just can't. Do you understand that at all?" he asked me, his voice tired and desperate.

Again I had to swallow hard a few times before I could say anything. "Yes," I whispered. "I do understand. And I'm sorry," I added as he watched me. "I'm so sorry I scared you and made life hell for you. I'm sorry Dean," I finished with a whimper.

He sighed and patted my back. "I know you are," he said as he rubbed at his eyes with his hand. "And I forgive you, sweetheart. But I want to make something clear. I know how you are and I know that at some point we're gonna butt heads again. It might not happen again for a long time, but I know it's gonna happen. So I'll warn you now. From now on whenever you decide to act like a little brat I'm going to treat you like one and give you a damn good spanking. And I'm not gonna feel bad for doing it either," he added firmly, but his eyes told me differently. But of course I said nothing about it. "I've told you that before but you didn't seem to really believe me," he continued. "Now I hope to God you do, Eden."

I shuddered a little and gave him a tiny nod. There was no reason to doubt the man now. "Yes, I do," I told him, making my voice as sincere as possible. I started to say something else but then out of the blue a heavy blanket of exhaustion hit me and I yawned widely and reached up to rub at my eyes. My whole body was limp and my eye lids drooped as though they had weights on them.

I heard Dean sigh quietly. "You need to get some rest," he told me as he sat up. "Come on sweetheart, get up," he added as he got up and held his hand out to me. Slowly and carefully I pushed myself up and I hissed as the slightest movement caused my well spanked ass to scream in protest. I whimpered again and caught Dean's hand and held it tight as he helped me get off the bed.

"Do you want to go in the bathroom and wash your face off?" he asked me once I was standing. I shook my head and rubbed at my eyes. "You sure? It might make you feel a little better if you splashed some cold water on your face," he told me, and again I shook my head.

"Noooo," I moaned pitifully. "I just want to go to bed."

"Okay," he said quietly, and quickly he turned to pull the covers back for me. He stepped aside so I could get in the bed and he kept his hand on my lower back as I moved slowly forward, giving me support. Finally I reached the bed and crawled in, and as soon as my ass made contact with that mattress I let out a loud cry and rolled over onto my stomach as quickly as I could. Moaning again, I buried my face in my pillow and as I did I realized I had no idea where my panties were. I then realized I didn't care.

I sniffled and whimpered as Dean pulled the covers over me, and then I felt him stroke my hair again. "Eden," he said after a moment of silence.

"Yes?" I asked in a tiny voice.

"I told Sam not to let Rivan come in here when they get back. If she tries to come in here anyway you tell her I said she couldn't and make her leave. That goes for tomorrow too. She's not allowed to be in here. Understand?"

I almost snorted. Me? Tell Rivan she couldn't come see me after she knew I'd just gotten the spanking of my life? Yeah right. Dean would do better telling her himself. But maybe she'd listen to Sam and stay out. Okay, there's another yeah right. I knew at some point she'd make it in here. There was no way I could stop her once she made her mind up to do something. But I went ahead and agreed to make Dean happy. "Yes. I understand," I told him, my voice still small.

"Good. That's my girl," he said gently, and I trembled at the tone and longed to throw my arms around him. But I didn't move and instead squeezed my eyes shut to fight back yet another wave of strong emotion.

For a moment Dean lingered by my bed, and then finally he sighed and reached over to turn the lamp off by my bed. Then he turned and left the room quickly and quietly, closing the door firmly behind him. I was so exhausted that only seconds later I slipped into a merciful sleep.

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><p><strong>AN: Okay that's it for now. Like I said I don't know how good it is and I probably shouldn't have posted it if I was so uncertain about it. But right now I am so tired and still a little down that I can't even imagine rewriting it. So I'm really sorry if it's no good. Maybe one day I'll rewrite it and replace this chapter but it won't be any time soon. So anyway if a lot of people feel this was not my best effort and thinks I should not continue, well then I probably won't. Well, actually I won't stop writing because I'm still having fun with the story. I'll just stop updating. But anyway if you all think it was fine then I plan on posting two more chapters after this. Chapter 10 will be about what Sam and Rivan did while Eden was being spanked, and chapter 11 will be Rivan's spanking. After that, who knows? Please be aware that I won't be updating next weekend as I'll be taking my time to write these next two chapters. I let that person's nasty PM get to me this time but it will be the last time. Again thank you all for reading and thank you for your support! :-)**


	10. Mistakes Realized

**Author's Note: Here's another long chapter for you, though not as long as the last one. In the first part of this chapter you'll get to find out what Sam and Rivan did while Eden was being spanked. It's written in Rivan's point of view as usual. But the second half is in Sam and Dean's. I didn't write that in first person, just to let you know. I don't know why I didn't, but I just couldn't do it that way. So it's done in third person. I hope it's not too weird for you all. And because I came home to three PMs asking if chapter 10 was going to have Rivan's spanking in it, forgive me for saying this again. This is not the chapter with Rivan's spanking. That's chapter 11, which I have already started working on.**

**Also I'm sure that most of you read Kelly's review on chapter 9. She had several good points and I love her for sharing them, and I love her even more for doing it nicely, unlike some other person. ****But anyway I gave a lot of thought to everything that she said and I realized she was right about the whole comfort thing. I see nothing wrong with Dean offering Eden a little comfort. As Rye pointed out when I asked her for her opinion, the girl has been through a lot and deserves to be held and comforted! I agree with her and so you have the comfort scene in the end. I also agree with Kelly about how Sam and Dean didn't try very hard to take the girls in hand before the spankings. They let them get away with a lot of attitude and bratty little fits. So in the second part of this chapter you'll find that I've tried to fix that. The guys come to realize their mistakes and vow to fix them. No more bratty fits and attitudes without correction, and less threatening and a lot more actual action.**

**I would like to say thank you to Kelly for bringing up these points and giving me some advice on how to handle it. In doing so you've helped me tell my story better. Or at least I hope it's better now, lol. I did try. I also want to say thank you to Kelly for the many compliments that she gave me on my writing. As always writers long to hear those things and we are always very grateful to all those that say them! :-) Oh, I also wanted to make mention of something else. It seems that the whole situation with Sam and the switch has some readers worried. I just want to ease your minds and let you know that a switch will not be used in any future spankings. In fact I won't have a switch in the story anymore at all. I decided that I didn't like it either, so no more switches!**

**Okay now, on with the story! And oh yeah, have to get my usual stuff in here. Forgive any mistakes that you find. I know that chapter 9 was kind of riddled with them and that upsets me. One day soon I want to fix all of those mistakes and replace the chapter. But for now they'll have to stay there. Okay, so now on with the story! Enjoy! :-)**

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><p>I slept until six-thirty that evening. I woke up with a start and rolled over to see what time it was. Startled that I had slept so long and panicking because I knew soon Eden was going to get her spanking, I jumped out of bed and pulled my shoes on. I went into the bathroom and brushed my hair and freshened up a bit. After that I found I was so nervous that for a moment all I could do was turn in circles as I thought about what to do now. After a few more seconds of doing that I suddenly decided I wanted to take a shower. So after picking out a fresh set of clothes and getting my things together, I stripped and did so. I was done, out of the shower, and dressed in less than fifteen minutes.<p>

Once out of the bathroom I went back to my bed and sat down. I stayed there for about five seconds before jumping back up. I looked at the clock. Five minutes until seven. Suddenly realizing I better not look like I was expecting him when Sam walked in, I kicked my shoes off, grabbed the nearest book, and flopped down on the bed and pretended to read. I had only been doing this for a few minutes when there was a knock at my door. Not waiting for me to respond, Sam opened the door and stepped in. I set my book down as he closed the door and then watched him with wide eyes as he moved further into the room.

He didn't bother with any polite greeting or an attempt at conversation. Big surprise. "Come on. Let's go," he ordered, his tone hard.

I stared at him, my heart twisting in my chest. "Go where?" I asked softly.

"For a ride," he said shortly, narrowing his eyes a bit. "Come on, get your shoes on and let's go."

I didn't move. It would be best to play like I didn't know what was going on. "I'm tired, I don't want to go anywhere," I said. "And I'm hungry," I added. "I want something to eat."

"We're going to get something to eat while we're out," Sam told me. "Now get up and put your shoes on, Rivan. Don't make me tell you again," he added, his tone full of warning.

Sighing, I did as he asked. Once I had my shoes on I stood and faced him. "What about Dean and Eden?" I asked next, still not moving. "Eden hasn't had anything to eat since this morning just like me."

"Dean brought her something to eat a while ago," Sam said, and I could tell he was really losing his patience with me. He walked over to me and I cringed a little but didn't move. Without meeting my eyes he grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward the door.

"Why are Dean and Eden staying behind?" I demanded, my voice high pitched and trembling. "Is Dean going to spank her?" I surprised myself by saying it out loud without even stuttering, but I was so nervous and worried about Eden that I forgot to be embarrassed about actually saying the _**S **_word instead of just thinking it.

"Yes Rivan, he is," Sam snapped at me as he pulled the bedroom door open. He dragged me out into the hall, and I glanced back at Eden's door, which was still closed.

"No!" I cried out, digging in my heels, fighting, despite Eden's advice against such an action. "He can't, I won't let him!"

"He can and he will and there's nothing you can do about it!" Sam growled at me as he stopped and turned to face me. I stopped struggling instantly. I could tell Sam was barely keeping his temper in check, and I felt tears prick my eyes as I looked up at him. "If you make me carry you out of this house, Rivan, you'll be spending most of your evening in the car, over my knee," he told me as he stared down at me. "Is that clear enough for you, or do I need to give you a little example of what I mean?" Not once during this little speech did Sam raise his voice. He kept it quiet, soft and so intense it took all my will power not to break down and sob then and there.

"No," I whispered. "You don't…I don't need an example…" My voice trailed off, and apparently satisfied with my answer, Sam turned and led me down the hall and then down the stairs. I didn't see Dean at all as we made our way to the door, and as Sam opened it and peered outside I caught sight of his charm dangling from his neck.

"Wait, wait!" I cried out, and Sam turned sharply to glare at me. "You can't leave them without any protection!" I said, trying to ignoring his look as I pointed at the charm. "Dean should have it!"

"Dean is protection enough for himself and Eden," Sam told me as he pulled me out the door. "We need the charm more than he does. Trust me. I wouldn't leave if I thought otherwise," he added as we reached the Impala. I said nothing, only watched as Sam unlocked my door for me and held it open. I didn't get in right away, and I could sense Sam's temper rising, so with a sigh that almost turned into a miserable sob I climbed into the car. Sam closed the door as soon as I was in, and as he moved around to the driver's side I started to put my seat belt on. Sam was in with his seat belt on before I got fully settled, and he had the key in and the car running before I had time to get a good last look at the house. He turned the car around quickly, expertly, and soon we were off down the road, leaving Eden behind to face Dean alone.

For quite a while after that I sat there in silence with my arms crossed over my chest, pouting and fighting back tears, as Sam drove the Impala down the road. I shifted in my seat, and then shifted again. As the car continued on I realized I was having an anxiety overload, and I didn't know what to do. It felt _so_ wrong not to be back at the house and keeping Dean from punishing Eden. I made a face at the word, and then shifted in my seat again. I bit my lower lip, ran my fingers through my hair a few dozen times, and then finally I could take no more.

"I don't want him to hurt her!" I blurted out, and voicing my worry seemed to increase the tears in my eyes, and a few escaped and slipped down my cheeks. I had not intended to talk to Sam while we were out, but it seemed I was unable to stick to that self made promise.

I felt more than saw Sam toss a glance my way. "You know what he's going to do to her," he said quietly. "And you know it's going to hurt."

"I know!" I snapped, and more tears came. "But he shouldn't be doing it in the first place!" I added as I slammed my fist down on my own leg. Ow.

"Why not?" Sam asked me, and I could just tell by his tone that he had both his eyebrows lifted.

"Because she…because he…because it's just wrong!"

"Why is it wrong?" Sam continued in his eyebrows-up voice.

"Because it just is!"

Sam snorted. "That's a sorry answer," he said. "And anyway, you only think it's wrong because you don't like it," he added.

_Well no shit Sherlock! _I thought furiously. I almost said it too, but stopped myself at the last moment. "Of course I don't like it!" I snapped instead. "It's stupid!"

"Tell me why it's stupid," Sam demanded, and now his voice was hard, annoyed. "Eden almost got herself killed," he said, obviously referring to our first, and most serious, offensive. "She scared the _hell_ out of Dean. Just like _you _scared the hell out of me."

"And so that gives him the right to…to _punish_ her?" I asked, ignoring the comment about me.

Sam was quiet for a moment. "Okay, think about it this way. What if I suddenly ran off in the middle of the night without any warning? What if I decided to take this ring," I saw him tilt his head toward the ring on the leather cord he was wearing with the charm. "And go off alone, to keep you protected, and Dean and Eden as well?"

"From what I understand, you _have_ taken off in the past before," I snapped at him, remembering some of the stories Dean and Bobby had told me. "More than once!"

"Yeah I did," he easily admitted. "And it was wrong. Every time, it was wrong. I scared a lot of people that care about me. So I'm speaking from experience. So how would you feel if I did that now, Rivan? Wouldn't that scare you? Wouldn't you be worried about me?"

I made a face and sighed deeply, frowning. "Well…yes, of course I would be."

"And wouldn't you want to kick my ass for doing it?" Sam continued in an annoyingly reasonable tone.

Damn him. "Yes," I muttered. "I would." I would at least want to try. I doubted I would get very far though.

"Well there you go. Dean's kicking Eden's ass, in a manner of speaking, for doing exactly that. Running off with a powerful ring that a pack of vampires would do anything to have, with absolutely no protection whatsoever. She deserves to have her ass kicked. Or in this case, spanked. Just like you deserve the same thing. And just like Eden, you're gonna get it," he added, and now his voice was dark with promise, and I couldn't help but flinch.

"I suppose you're going to do that as soon as we get back home, aren't you?" I asked, doing my best to sound snarly. To my ears I only sounded half snarly. There was more whiny mixed in there than I liked.

Again Sam was quiet for far too long. "No," he finally said, and I looked at him in surprise. "When Dean's done with Eden she won't feel like getting in the car and riding around. Dean won't be in the mood for it either. I'll just have to wait to deal with you sometime tomorrow or the next day," he added, shooting a quick glance at me.

_Deal with me_? Yeah, that didn't sound ominous in any way shape or form. Crap. Those three little words intimidated me enough to send me into silence for a few minutes, and then suddenly I got annoyed. My mouth flew open, ready to spew out lots of insults and cuss words that would probably cause Sam to pull over and spank me right there on the side of the road. This thought gave me pause, and then for a moment I considered saying what I wanted anyway, but common sense won me over. So instead the only response I gave him was a loud huff as I crossed my arms again and glared out the window.

Several miles passed in tense silence, and then Sam spoke again. "When we get back to the house, I don't want you going into Eden's room," he told me firmly.

I whipped around to stare at him in outrage. "What? Of course I'm going in there! I have to check on her! I have to make sure she's okay!"

"Dean's not beating the shit out of her, Rivan. He's _spanking _her."

"What's the difference?"

"There's a big difference," Sam growled at me. "And you know it."

"It doesn't matter," I insisted. "I still need to check on her."

"Well you're not going to!"

"Says who?"

"Says me, damn it! And Dean! He doesn't want you to go in there and get her all riled up again!"

"Dean said that?"

"Yes."

"He told you not to let me go check on her?"

"Yes!"

It was my turn to snort now. "Do you always do exactly what your brother tells you to do?" I sneered. "Can't you think for yourself? Pathetic! He doesn't—" I broke off as the Impala suddenly made a sharp turn, heading toward the side of the road.

I looked over at Sam with wide eyes. "What are you doing?" I demanded, and then my heart started to thump madly as I noticed how mad he looked. Okay, maybe asking him whether or not he can think for himself and calling him pathetic because he did whatever Dean said was stupid. Real stupid. I knew how touchy Sam was about that. He prided himself on thinking for himself. His ability and determination to do that was what had caused so much tension between him and his father. Sam made a big deal out of thinking for himself. And here I'd just gone and basically called him a mindless drone that only knew how to follow his big brother's orders. So when the Impala finally came to a stop my hand flew to the handle of the door, ready to take off. Where I thought I was going to go, I had no idea. But I didn't have to worry about it for too long. Sam saw to that.

"Rivan!" he snarled, and I jerked in my seat, my head whipping around to stare at him. "If you get out of this car and try to take off on me, so help me I'll take my belt off and whip your ass with it right here on the side of this road!"

I stiffened as defiance stupidly became my main emotion. "You will not!" I snapped at him, my tone haughty and disbelieving.

The defiance drained out of me rather quickly as Sam leaned slowly toward me, that little muscle in his jaw going about ninety miles an hour. "Try me," he said, very softly and very quietly.

Suddenly my hand was off the handle of the car door without me even remembering doing it. I clasped both hands in my lap, and for some reason, I guess because of the way I was sitting with my head bowed and my hands like that, the mental description of a naughty school girl floated in my mind. I almost let loose with a hysterical little giggle at that, but I managed to hold it back, which was probably a very good thing.

"Put your seatbelt back on," Sam told me after a few minutes of awful silence, and I looked up in shocked. I hadn't realized until now that I had even taken it off. Slowly, almost mechanically, I pulled the seatbelt around me and buckled it. Again that terrible silence filled the car. I risked a glance over at Sam, and had to look away quickly when I saw he was still staring at me in a rather frightening way.

Then he started the Impala up again. "Don't you ever accuse me of not thinking for myself again," he told me quietly as he put the car in drive. "You know better than that."

I didn't say anything to that, and I didn't say much of anything for the rest of the evening. Sam took us to a small restaurant, insisting that we needed to eat. Though I had claimed earlier that I was hungry, I found that my appetite had vanished, and once we were in the resturant and seated in a booth I told Sam I didn't want anything to eat. Apparently he had decided to take Dean's advice about making me eat, because he told me in a low, sharp voice that if I didn't order something and eat it, he was going to find a quiet place to park the Impala later and pull my pants and panties down and spank me until my ass glowed a bright red. Those were his exact words. Thank God no one was sitting close to us, but still it didn't ease my embarrassment any.

At that point our waiter came and took our order for drinks, and I was so mortified and embarrassed over Sam's detailed warning that he had to order my drink for me. Thankfully he knew me well and ordered a diet coke for me. After that I opened my menu and hid behind it, trying to calm down a bit. By the time the waiter came back with our drinks and to take our order, I was at least calm enough to tell him what I wanted. I ended up ordering a dinner salad. Sam ordered the same, and once our food came we ate quietly. Or Sam ate actually, while I picked at the salad before me.

Throughout the meal, though, Sam threw me a sharp look every once in a while, and every time he did I'd force a fork full of greens in my mouth and reluctantly chew and swallow, not tasting the food at all. A lot calmer now, as far as Sam's horrible promise went, I found that now my mind was strictly on Eden, wondering how she was doing and worrying about her. At one point I managed to sneak a glance at Sam's wristwatch and saw that we'd already been gone for more than two hours and Dean hadn't called yet. Geez, how long can a person spank another? Knowing Dean, quite a while. The thought was unsettling, and I wondered if my poor friend would have any ass left by the time he was done with her. Finally after the waiter had taken our dishes, refilled our drinks for the fifth time, and given us our check, Sam's cell phone went off. I went very still and watched with wide eyes as Sam answered.

"Hey," he said in a way of greeting. He listened for a moment before speaking again. "No, we just got done eating. Yeah, we've been at the restaurant all this time. So," he continued, lowering his voice. "Are you ready for us to come home?" I looked down at my glass of diet coke as Sam listened to Dean's response. "Okay," he said after a few moments of silence. "We'll head back then. Yeah Dean, I know," he added, a note of irritation in his voice now. "She knows not to. I already talked to her about it. She won't, I promise. See you soon," he told his brother, and closed his phone with a snap.

"What was that about?" I demanded at once. "That last part. Dean making sure I knew not to go check on Eden?"

"Yes," Sam answered as he pulled his wallet out of his pocket. I watched, expecting him to take out a credit card to pay for our meal, but he surprised me by pulling out a twenty dollar bill. I'd noticed in the past that Sam liked to pay for things with cash whenever he possibly could. Made it easier not to trace back to us, and kept things from looking too suspicious on the credit cards. His belief was that the more they were used, the more likely one of the credit card companies would notice something was up.

But anyway as far as his answer to my question went, I wasn't quite sure what response to give him next that wouldn't get me in trouble, so I remained silent as the waiter took our money to the cash register and did his thing. He came back with a little change, which Sam left as a tip, after adding a few dollars more from his wallet, and then we got up and left. As we walked out into the cool night Sam took my hand, and I was still so irritated I tried jerking away from him, but he held tight to my hand.

"Stop," he ordered me sharply when I tried to free myself again. "It's dark out here and I'm going to walk you to your door, and I'm going to keep a hold on you while I do."

"Why?" I asked with a definite whine in my tone. "You've got your damn charm on."

"I know Rivan," he growled at me as he led me to my side of the car. He unlocked it quickly and opened the door for me, waiting for me to slide in. "But there's no reason to take any chances right now."

"Whatever," I said as I got into the car. Sam closed the door and stood there until I locked it, and moving quickly he made it to the driver's side and was inside in record time with his door locked. He stuck the key in the ignition, gave it a twist, and the engine started up with a roar that Dean always paused to admire when he was driving the Impala. Sam didn't take the time, mainly because he wasn't interested, and after putting his seatbelt on and making sure mine was firmly in place he backed out, turned the car around, and drove out of the parking lot.

The drive back was just as tense and silent as before, and the next thing I knew we were pulling into the driveway of our temporary home. I got my seatbelt off quickly and made to get out of the car, but Sam stopped me with a firm hand on my arm. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded. "You know better than to get out of this car before I do."

"Oh hell Sam!" I snapped, fed up with everything. "What difference does it make? Something could just as easily attack me while you're coming around to open my door, even if I do keep the doors locked!"

For a moment he just sat there and stared at me. Then he took a deep, deep breath. "Rivan, I know you're not stupid," he told me, and again I could tell he was hanging onto his temper. "So either you have a hearing problem or you're just plain stubborn."

I blinked and then glared at him. "What're you talking about?" I demanded.

"This car," he said roughly, slapping his hand on the dash broad. "Is full of things that keep all kinds of creatures out. Spirits, demons, witches, you name it and we've got it covered. Either it's an actual item small enough to hide, or we have something drawn somewhere, that will keep those things out. The inside of this car is almost safer than the inside of that house!" he added loudly, jabbing a finger at the house in front of us. "I've told you this before, Rivan. Dean has told you. He's told Eden too. That's why you need to stay in here until I can get to your door and let you out! You stay protected longer that way!"

By the time he was done talking his eyes were flashing and I had cringed away from him. Okay, so I kind of forgot about all that crap. Forgive me for not being perfect! Geez. So since I wasn't quite sure what to say to all of that I just kept quiet and stared straight ahead at the house and waited.

Sam was silent for a few more moments and then he took another deep breath. "So now that I've explained that to you, yet again, I want you to stay in here and keep your door locked until I get over there to open it. Got it?"

My defiance came back in a sudden rush, and I snorted. "Fine! I'll keep my door locked! And maybe I'll keep all of the other ones locked too!" I told him, too angry to think clearly. "Maybe I'll just sleep out here tonight! What do you think about that?"

Sam stared at me for a moment and then held the keys to the car up so I could see them. He jingled them a little and then closed his hand over them. "I've got the keys to the car, smart ass," he told me. "And if you fight me getting out of this car I _promise_ you that I'll bend you over the hood and blister your ass with my belt. What do _you_ think about _that_?" he asked back, his tone dark, snarly, and shiver-inducing.

By the time he was done talking I was pretty sure my eyes were as big as saucers. I could feel my face, my neck _and_ my ears burn from the embarrassment and shock that mental picture brought about, and for a moment I couldn't speak. But I eventually found my voice. "Oh, well that would be just great! You'd leave us both wide open to an attack, because you wouldn't be paying attention to anything other than beating me and not protecting me! Not very quick on your mental feet, are you Sam?"

I watched with wide eyes as his hand tightened over the keys he was still holding, causing them to grind against each other and make a very interesting noise. "You've also forgotten that all of the protection we have on and in this car extends several feet beyond the car itself," he told me, and his tone was deceptively soft. "So there would be little reason to worry about something getting the drop on us while I do what I need to do." He paused for a moment and let that sink in, and then he continued. "But if push comes to shove, there's plenty of room to deliver that spanking right here in the car. I may not be able to take my belt off, but I'm sure I can do a hell of a job with my hand alone. Care to test that theory?" he asked, both eyebrows shooting up in that annoying, but intimidating _I dare you_ look.

We stared at each other for several long, terrible moments, and as I gazed into his eyes I knew I would lose this fight. I had no desire to start off my spanking sitting here in the car, and anyway it suddenly hit me how desperately tired I was. "No," I answered in a small, soft voice. "I do _not _care to test that theory. I'll wait in the car while you come around to open my door," I added, looking down at my hands as I finished speaking. For a moment Sam didn't move, and I risked a quick glance at him. Our eyes met and held for a handful of seconds. Then Sam narrowed his eyes at me slightly, took a deep breath, and shoved his keys into his shirt pocket.

Once that was done he flung his door open, got out, hit the lock on the door, and closed it firmly. I watched as he jogged around to my door and as soon as he reached it I unlocked it and he pulled it open. He reached in and offered me his hand, which I took, and he pulled me out of the car, hitting the lock on that door as he did. He slammed it shut, and moving his grip from my hand to my arm, we practically ran to the front door. Sam had the key out and ready, and he had the door unlocked in seconds, careful not to break the salt line that was on the door step in front of it. He stepped back and let me go in first. As soon as I had cleared both salt lines he came in behind me and closed the door firmly, locking and bolting the door.

We stood there in the entry hall for a few moments, both of us breathing deeply. All the lights were on in the house, and I walked forward a few steps and peered nervously into the living room. It was empty, which really didn't surprise me. Sighing, I turned away to see Sam standing in the doorway of the living room, staring my way but not looking directly at me. Frowning, I turned back around and looked, realizing that he was staring into the kitchen. From where I was standing I could see that Dean was in there sitting at the table, his back to us. Even so, I could clearly see that he was sitting there holding the silver flask that he carried, which always seemed to be full of some kind of alcohol. I watched as he lifted it and took a long drink. I knew he had to know we were standing there, but he did nothing to acknowledge our presence. Not that I was too keen to talk to him anyway. He had, after all, just thoroughly spanked my very best friend in the whole world. There were only a few things I wanted to say to Dean Winchester at that moment, and every single one of them would get me into an ass load of trouble.

I stared at him for a few more moments and then my mind went back to Eden. The thought of her drew my eyes to the stairs and I started toward them quickly, only to be caught again by Sam's firm grip. Keeping a tight hold on my upper arm, he pulled me to him and gazed down at me, his eye dark and his face stern.

"Do _not_ go into her room," he told me in a quiet voice. "I mean it Rivan. If you do Eden won't be the only one sleeping on her stomach tonight."

I blinked and felt a blush spread across my face again, but I forced myself to glare up at him. "Fine," I snapped, trying not to show how shaken I was over his warning. "Let me go, will you? I'm tired and I want to go to bed."

Never taking his eyes off of mine, he did as I asked, freeing my arm from his vase like grip. "Go on then," he told me, finally looking away and waving a hand vaguely toward the stairs. His eyes were on his brother again, and I knew he was eager to talk to him. I found it highly unfair that he got to talk to Dean but I couldn't talk to Eden, but I didn't point out grossly unfair that was. Instead I sighed quietly and started toward the stairs while Sam went into the kitchen. I heard nothing as I climbed the stairs, though I tried to move as slowly as possible in hopes of catching some of the conversation. They were obviously going to wait until they heard my bedroom door close though, and furious, I hurried up the remaining steps and down the hall to my room.

Unable to help myself, I walked by my door and stopped at the door to Eden's room, which was closed of course. I stood there and listened for a few moments, but I could hear nothing. I guess in a way that was good, because if I had heard her crying I would have gone in to comfort her, Sam's warning be damned. I stood there and waited a little bit more to be sure I heard nothing, and suddenly I did hear something. The sound of a chair being pushed back in the kitchen floated up the stairs to me, and then I heard footsteps. Panicking, for I knew it was Sam coming to see why he had not heard a bedroom door open and close, I rushed down the hall and to my room. I flung the door open, flipped the light switch by the door, and ran inside, swearing as I did. I closed the door as quick as I could, making sure the sound would be heard by Sam, whom I knew was probably standing at the foot of the stairs waiting and listening.

I stood there for a moment, waiting to see if he would come and check on me anyway, and after I was sure several minutes had passed and he hadn't shown up, I turned away from the door. For a few minutes after that I actually stomped around my room and had a small fit, and finally after that I got ready for bed in a rather depressed, nervous mode. To my annoyance I now found that I wasn't anywhere near as tired as I'd felt only minutes ago. Minutes later I drug myself out of the bathroom dressed in a cute, blue silk pajama set and wandered miserably over to my bed. I pulled the covers back, and then just stood there and stared down at the waiting mattress. For one brief, daring moment I seriously considered sneaking down stairs and seeing if I could listen in on the conversation I knew Sam and Dean were now having in the kitchen, and I actually turned and started toward the door.

But my senses came back to me in a rush just as I reached it, and scowling, I turned back around and stomped over to my bed again. I threw myself in it, yanked the covers over me, and then realized the ceiling light was still , I pushed the covers off of me, turned the lamp on by my bed, and stomped back over to the door and viciously hit the switch on the wall, turning off the big light. Still swearing, I stomped back to the bed for the third time and crawled in, pulling the covers over me again, which were now messed up due to the hard yank I had given them minutes before. Not caring one bit, I leaned over and turned the lamp off, and then settled further down in my bed.

I laid awake for quite some time after that, listening carefully to every little sound that came my way. At one point I heard Sam come upstairs and go into his room, and a few minutes after he'd closed his door I heard Dean come upstairs too. I heard him go into his room and for another few minutes there was nothing but silence. Then I could have sworn I heard Dean come back out of his room, but I must have been hearing things because I didn't hear him come down the hall. After that total silence set in, and after an hour of that I finally began to get drowsy. Sighing loudly, I rolled over on my side, facing the wall, and glared at it through the darkness. As I began to drift off, something finally, truly hit home.

The first punishment had been delivered. Eden had been spanked. And now I couldn't help but be worried about more than just my friend's sore ass. Because I know that all too soon, it would be my turn next.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Sam and Dean's POV:<span>**

Standing at the foot of the stairs and tapping one long finger on the banister, Sam looked up toward the bedrooms that were above him, waiting and listening. He knew Rivan had not gone straight to her room as he had told her to, and now he was waiting to hear the sound of a bedroom door opening and slamming shut. He stood perfectly still, praying that the sound would come soon. He really did not want to have to go up there and spank Rivan tonight. There would be plenty of time for that tomorrow night.

A few seconds later he heard what he was waiting for, the sound of a door being jerked open. He smiled tightly when a muttered curse floated his way right before he heard the door slam shut. Just to be sure that she had actually gone into her bedroom and had not stood in the hallway and simply opened and then closed her door, Sam climbed quietly to the top of the stairs and looked down the hall. No one was there, and he wondered if Rivan was crazy enough to be hiding in Eden's room. He considered checking but then he heard another curse, this one muffled behind the door of Rivan's bedroom. She was actually stomping around in her room having a little hissy fit like a bratty two year old.

Sam stood there and listened for a few more moments, and then with a shake of his head he turned and went back down stairs. He crossed the living room silently and went back to the kitchen. Dean was still there, and his brother said nothing as Sam sat back down in his chair that he had vacated minutes ago when he'd gone to check on Rivan. As Sam sat there across from Dean he studied his older brother. He looked tired and stressed, but with their life style that was the norm for both brothers. But this look was a bit different. There was more to it than just exhaustion and stress.

Sam watched as Dean raised the flask to his lips again to take another hearty drink. The silence was getting awkward and Sam finally decided he would have to be the one to break it. "Dean," he said quietly, and watched as Dean swung his eyes around to meet his, not pausing at all as he downed the alcohol in the flask. Sam sighed. "You okay?" he asked hesitantly. Sam knew he wasn't but he wasn't sure what else to say at that moment.

Dean didn't answer right away as he continued to drink, and then finally he finished, for the moment, and he placed the flask on the table with a loud thud. "Oh yeah," he answered sarcastically. "I'm just wonderful, Sam."

Sam sighed deeply. "It was that bad, huh?"

Of course Sam didn't have to specify what he meant. "No Sammy, it was just great!" Dean growled at him, his eyes flashing.

Sam frowned at his brother. "You don't have to be an ass," he told him, keeping a tight grip on his temper. His evening out with Rivan had not exactly been relaxing, and Sam wasn't in the mood for any of Dean's crap. Not when all he was trying to do was make sure he was okay.

For a moment Dean sat there and glared at Sam, and then he sighed loudly. "Sorry," he muttered, and he could tell the apology took his younger brother by surprise. Dean didn't make a habit of apologizing. "To answer your question, yeah it was that bad."

Sam shot him a sympathetic look. "I'm gonna go ahead and assume that she made things pretty difficult."

Dean snorted. "That's an understatement," he muttered. He sighed and ran his fingers through his short hair. "She threw her damn hair brush at me!"

Sam's eyes went wide. "You're kidding!"

"Nope," Dean said with a shake of his head. "She just picked that thing up and slung it at me. Little brat."

"I guess she missed then," Sam said as he studied Dean, looking for any marks that would indicate that the brush had found its target.

"Yeah, lucky for her she did," Dean replied, his tone dark. "I caught it right before it slammed into my head."

Now it was Sam's turn to snort. "I hope that was all she was dumb enough to do," he said as he leaned over and picked up the silver flask. Sam wasn't much of a drinker but he thought he deserved one after the night he had spent with a bratty Rivan. He took a long drink as he waited for Dean's answer.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Hell no. She cussed me out better than any drunken man could have, and then later she hauled off and hit me in the leg. She did that while I was spanking her! And then she went and called me a…how did she put it…oh yeah." Dean made a face and cleared his throat. "Well she didn't say it this nicely, but she basically told me that I was a mean, mutated ape that liked the color pink and thought dancing with Barney was fun."

Still in the middle of his drink, Sam very nearly spewed the alcohol across the table upon hearing that. Choking, he reached up to cover his mouth, trying to hide the fact that he was fighting back a laugh. "You gotta be joking!" he choked out, and after a few seconds he was unable to hold back a short laugh.

Dean leaned back in his chair and glared at Sam. "No, I'm not. That's what she said. And it's not funny!" he snapped.

"Oh come on Dean, you gotta admit that's just a little funny." Folding his arms across his chest, Dean continued to glare at his little brother, not cracking a smile at all. "Okay fine," Sam relented, still grinning. "But you at least gotta admit she's imaginative."

Dean glared for another moment and then sighed and nodded in agreement. "Yeah I guess so. But then so am I," he added with a tight smile that contained no humor. "She found that out real quick."

Now Sam couldn't help but wince in sympathy for Eden, even if she had deserved the spanking she got. "I hope you didn't get _too_ imaginative with her," he said as he eyed his brother.

Dean gave him another dark glare. "Of course not. She got exactly what she deserved. Nothing more, nothing less."

Sam nodded as the amusement in his eyes faded. "Did you use your hand the whole time?"

"Nope. I popped her on the ass four times with that damn brush she threw at me, and then used my belt toward the end."

Sam blinked and then took a deep breath. "Yeah," he said quietly as he gave the silver flask a good look over. "I've been thinking about doing the same thing with Rivan. Using my belt, I mean. I wasn't sure if I should, though. Seems kind of harsh."

Dean made a sound that was half growl, half snort, and Sam looked up at him. "In this situation it's not harsh," he told Sam firmly. "You gotta remember everything that she's done, Sam. You know you're gonna have to be hard on her. And being hard on her doesn't mean being harsh or abusive. You have to be firm. You can't be anything less, and you know it. If you are, you might as well not do it at all. And that would be a big mistake," Dean added as he leaned over and snatched the flask out of Sam's hand. He took another long drink, keeping his eyes on his brother as he did. Sam said nothing, just merely nodded thoughtfully.

"We've done wrong by those girls," Dean told him as he lowered the flask. For a long moment the two Winchesters sat there and stared at each other, and both wore knowing looks. Dean continued, his eyes blazing. "We waited too damn long to spank em'. And during that time we were too damn soft on them. When I think back over the last few weeks and remember some of the tantrums they had, and all of those smart ass attitudes that they pulled on us, I can't believe we let them get away with it all! All we did was threaten them, and it didn't do us a damn bit of good. The only reason why they walked out of this house and into the woods to explore is because deep down they didn't think they'd get into a lot of trouble. And why? Because we didn't back up our promises and we didn't correct them when they needed it! It can't be that way anymore, Sam. Not if we want to keep them alive."

For several minutes a deep silence hung between the brothers. Sam sat there with his hands clasped on the table top while Dean took a swig from the flask every now and then, watching his younger brother as he did. Finally Sam let out a deep, deep sigh. "I know," he said as he ran his long fingers through his hair. "I've been thinking the same thing, to be honest. Especially tonight. Rivan was being such a brat while we were out. Once she got so bad I had to pull over on the side of the road to chew her out, and she almost got out of the car and ran." Sam paused for a moment, his eyes darkening with anger as he remembered. Then he continued, his tone quiet and intense.

"I managed to stop her, but I couldn't help but think that she wouldn't have done that if I'd taken her in hand a long time ago. You're right. We weren't doing them any favors by waiting to spank them. We were afraid to do that to them right after everything that they'd been through, but that was the wrong decision. We should have only waited a few days after we got here. Not a few weeks." Sam shook his head. "You don't have to worry about how I'm going to handle Rivan. I'll do what I need to do."

"Good," Dean said, satisfied with Sam's answer. "But I'm gonna warn you now, Sammy." He paused for a moment and stared at the flask he held. Then he took a deep breath and looked up at Sam. "It is _not_ gonna be easy. Spanking Eden was one of the hardest damn things I've ever done, and I've done a lot of hard things. She cried and she sobbed and she begged me to stop. It tore my heart into pieces. I hated every second of it. But I did it anyway because I love her and I care about her, and I don't want anything to happen to her. I had to get through to her no matter what, and in the end I did. I didn't stop when she begged me to, because I knew it wasn't time to stop. I wanted to, but I knew if I stopped too soon it wouldn't do her any good. You have to be firm with Rivan the whole time, Sam. You can't go soft on her. Not during the spanking, that is. If you do the only thing you'll end up teaching her is that you're a push over and that she can continue to do whatever the hell she wants to."

For a moment Sam just sat there and stared at Dean, and then with a loud sigh he leaned over and snatched the flask back. He took a long drink and then looked at Dean. "I know," he said. "I know what I have to do and I'm gonna do it. She'll learn what she needs to learn tomorrow night. It's that simple."

Dean nodded. "So that's when you want to do it? Tomorrow night?"

"Yeah. I really didn't want to wait that long, but I wanted to give Eden some time to rest before she had to go sit in the Impala for a few hours. I know she's sore."

"Hell yeah she's sore," Dean snorted. "She probably won't be able to sit much in the car tomorrow. I'll see if I can find a place to park and maybe we can walk around a little. There's a lot of things to see around here, and they're all in busy places. I don't want to walk around in the dark where there's not a lot of people nearby."

Sam nodded. "Good idea," he said, thinking of the vampires. He really doubted any of them were around here, but it would be better to stay in a crowded place just in case. For obvious reasons the vamps didn't like to attack in public.

"What time do you want us to leave tomorrow night?" Dean asked, interrupting Sam's thoughts.

"I don't know," Sam said with a shrug. "I guess about the same time Rivan and I left tonight. Around seven."

"Okay," Dean said easily. "Seven it is, then. Oh by the way," he added before Sam could reply. "I grounded Eden for a week. So you might want to do the same with Rivan. Just a thought."

Sam sighed. "Yeah," he muttered. "I was already planning on doing that." He paused. "How did Eden take it when you told her she was grounded?"

Dean shrugged. "I think she was surprised, but I didn't tell her until I was done spanking her. At that point she wasn't real interested in arguing about anything."

Sam snorted softly. "I bet not." For a few minutes the two brothers sat there in silence, and then finally Sam took a deep breath. "I think I'm gonna go to bed," he told Dean. "I'm beat, and I need all the rest I can get before tomorrow night." He stood before Dean could say anything and then pushed his chair in. Then he glanced down at the flask he still held and and then glanced at Dean. "By the way, you're out," he added as he tossed the empty flask at his brother.

Dean caught it with a frown and then shook it. "Damn it, Sammy," he growled as he glared up at Sam, who merely grinned.

"Sorry," he said, though he didn't sound too sorry. "Night Dean," he added as he made his way out of the kitchen, still grinning. Dean muttered a few things at him as he left, and he heard Sam chuckle softly before starting up the stairs. For a few minutes Dean just stayed where he was, listening to the silence and basically feeling lousy. He shook the empty flask again, spent a few moments cussing Sam out, and then tossed the flask on the table and stood up.

He left the kitchen, turning out lights as he made his way to the stairs. He climbed the steps quickly and quietly, and when he reached the top he turned left and started down the hallway. He passed Sam's room first and then Rivan's, which were both on the right. A few more steps brought him to Eden's room on the left. The door was closed of course, but he stopped for a moment and studied it. He stood there and listened for a moment but could hear nothing, and his heart gave an aching throb as he thought about Eden and how she had cried while he'd spanked her.

When he had turned and left her there crying in bed alone, it had actually been the worst moment of the evening. What he had wanted to do was crawl in the bed next to her and gather her in his arms and hold her, but he'd figured that after spanking the daylights out of her she wouldn't welcome such a thing. So he had left her there, and that's mainly what had driven him to the kitchen to drink. It hadn't helped. The desire to go in and hold her was still there, only now it was stronger.

Swearing softly, Dean suddenly turned away and went to his room, which was right next to Eden's. He charged in and almost slammed the door behind him, but he caught himself and closed it softly instead. Still swearing, he pulled a pair of black sweats and a blue t-shirt out of his bag, which he had not unpacked out of habit, and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and change. Once he was done he stomped out of the bathroom and stood there for a moment with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring around the room. Then suddenly he heard something, and the sound seemed to be coming from the hallway. Automatically his hunter instincts kicked into gear and very slowly he made his way to the door.

He paused for only a moment before pulling it open, his body tense and ready to leap into action. The light from his room spilled out into the hallway, and he couldn't see anything. Of course from experience he knew that this meant nothing, and for a moment he considered calling out to Sam. But then he heard the sound again, and realized it was someone whimpering, and it didn't sound like it was coming from any disembodied spirit. Frowning, Dean stepped out into the hallway and listened.

He identified the sound right away. It was coming from Eden's room, and his heart crumpled in his chest at the sound of her quiet cries. Suddenly he couldn't take it anymore. He had to go in there and at least offer her comfort. If she didn't want him and ordered him away, he would go. But he couldn't leave her alone in there any longer. He'd been wrong to do it in the first place.

Swearing very viciously at himself, he turned back to his room and hit the light switch on the wall, and he was plunged into total darkness. Then without pause he went to Eden's door and slowly opened it. She didn't have any lights on in there either, so when her door suddenly squeaked open and a dark figure slipped inside, Dean was not surprised when she gasped loudly in the middle of a pitiful little sob.

"Sssh, it's just me," Dean called to her softly as he closed the door behind him. "It's okay, sweetheart. Sssh," he soothed as he moved toward her bed. He had first intended to go to her bed side and offer her his comfort slowly, in order to give her the chance to reject it if she wanted to.

But suddenly he tossed that idea out the window and moved over to the other side of the bed. Eden didn't say anything as he pulled the covers back and crawled in beside her. She was still lying on her stomach and had her face turned toward him, her cheek resting on her pillow and her right hand clenched into a small fist, which she had pressed against her lips as though she had been trying to cover her sobs.

Dean held back a curse as he pulled the covers over him and Eden. Once he had the covers settled he turned on his side to face her, and at that moment the moon peeked through the only window in the room, casting a silver light on her and showing him a face shiny with tears. At that moment Dean had never been so tempted to kick his own ass. While he still believed that she had deserved every bit of the spanking he gave her, he didn't believe that she had deserved to be left alone once it was done. But that's exactly what he had gone and done to her, and he vowed from now on that whenever he had to spank her, he would stay with her afterwards and hold her until she was calm again.

Well, he would only if she accepted his comfort now. She said nothing as she stared at him, and Dean remained silent too as he gazed back at her. Then slowly he reached out and stroked her hair, and then her cheek. In the moonlight he saw her eyes go wide, and he paused for a moment. She stayed still and didn't say anything, and Dean continued to gently stroke her cheek with the back of his fingers. Then quite suddenly Eden moved. Groaning slightly, she moved until she was lying on her side and then she scooted over to Dean, threw her arm around him, pressed herself against him, and buried her face against his chest. Surprised but pleased, Dean wrapped his arm around her tightly and held her close, and she started to sob into his shirt.

"I know sweetheart," Dean murmured quietly as he stroked her hair. "Sssh. I'm right here. I've got you. It's okay. I still love you Eden," he added as he leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Everything's gonna be okay." She didn't respond verbally to his soothing words, but she snuggled closer to him and hung onto him for dear life. As Dean held her and continued to whisper words of comfort he could feel her relief, but he could also feel her confusion. To be in his strong arms felt good to her, right, but she was confused as to why she felt this way. She felt better, safe, and protected, but he knew she couldn't understand why. He was, after all, the man that had thoroughly spanked her not too long ago, and now here he was holding her and soothing her, and it was what she wanted. It was what she needed. She just didn't know why. She still said nothing though, and the longer she stayed in his arms the more he could feel her confusion drain out of her. She had stopped crying long ago and now was just letting him hold her while she kept her face pressed against his chest. Dean ran his finger tips up and down her back slowly, and he kept up the endless stream of whispered words as he did so.

Finally he felt her relax completely, and after a few minutes her breathing turned soft and even as she drifted off to sleep in his arms. Dean stayed awake for a little while after that, and when he too finally fell asleep he found that he felt just as comforted as the woman that he held safely in his arms.

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, that's it for now! I hope everyone like it well enough. If you have a moment, let me know your thoughts in a review. Thank you for reading, and again I must ask you to be patient as I write out Rivan's spanking. Like I said, I want to take my time with it, which is something I was unable to do with Eden's spanking. So just hang in there and I'll get that chapter up as soon as I can! Thanks again for reading! :-)**


	11. Crime and Punishment: Rivan's Spanking

**Author's Note: Okay everyone. Here it is. And I'm sure you've noticed that it's a long chapter. My longest one yet. I really hadn't planned on making it this long but I ended up adding about fifteen extra pages of new stuff and before I knew it I had forty-three pages when I was done. I thought about splitting it up into seperate chapters but then I decided that I didn't want to do that. So that's how you ended up with such a long chapter. I hope no one gets bored while reading it!**

**This chapter is broken up into four parts. The first part is about Rivan sneaking into Eden's room the next morning to check on her. The second part is Rivan's spanking, and the third part tells you what Dean and Eden were doing while Rivan was being spanked. That part is written in Eden's point of view, of course. And the last part of the chapter is about Sam going back into Rivan's room to comfort her. I didn't write a conversation between Sam and Dean like I did last time. Mainly because it would have taken me longer to finish and I didn't want to make everyone wait any longer.**

**Well, I don't have much to add to that. I've been quietly freaking out about posting this chapter. I'm afraid, of course, that you all won't like the way I wrote Rivan's spanking as much as you liked the way I wrote Eden's. I wrote Rivan's differently than Eden's and I do hope you all like it just as much. But anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter well enough. As always please forgive any mistakes you may find while reading, and thank you so much to everyone that posted a review for chapter ten. I was glad to see that you all liked it. Anyway, here we go! Enjoy!**

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><p>I woke early the next morning, a little before eight, and I got straight up, picked out an outfit, and went into the bathroom and took a shower. Once I was done I marched out and grabbed my cell phone. I opened it and sent Eden a text message. I don't know how I knew, but I knew she was awake as well. <em>I am coming to see you<em>. Was all I sent. Almost instantly she replied, confirming that I was right about her being awake.

_NO do not Rivvie you will get in trouble!_ With some difficultly I ignored that and closed my phone, shoving it into the pocket of my jeans. Then with a defiant, determined air I left the room, quietly, and crept down the hall to her door. Being as cautious as I could be, I opened the door and stepped in, closing it behind me. Taking a deep breath, I turned around. Eden was still in bed, and she was lying on her stomach. She looked a little tired and nervous, and as I watched she attempted to push herself up a bit. But even that small movement seemed to be hard for her, and finally she collapsed back on her stomach and looked at me.

"Rivan, you have to go back to your room!" she told me in a whisper. "Dean said you're not allowed to be in here! Didn't Sam tell you?"

"Yes," I replied, my tone making it very clear how little I cared.

"Then you have to go back!" Eden insisted. "If you're caught in here the shit will hit the fan!"

"I don't care," I said firmly as I moved over to the bed. Eden groaned and seeing that I wasn't going to change my mind, she sighed and scooted over as much as she could, making room for me. I sat down on the edge of the bed next to her and for a handful of minutes we just stared at each other. I had planned on approaching the subject of her spanking carefully and with great tact, but the idea was suddenly abandoned and as I studied her closely I blurted out, "Oh Eden, was it just awful?"

She swallowed hard and for a few moments she didn't say anything. "Well…it hurt," she finally whispered. "A lot. I don't think I'll be able to sit comfortably for at least two weeks." She was quiet for a moment. "He used his belt…toward the end," she added in a tiny voice.

I inhaled sharply. "My poor Eden!" I said, reaching out to stroke her hair. We were both quiet for a few moments, and then I spoke again. "Do you hate him?" I asked her softly, fearing the answer. I was afraid of her answer because if she hated Dean for spanking her, I was scared that would mean I would hate Sam when he spanked me.

For a moment her sky blue eyes widened, and then she took a deep breath. "No," she said in a small voice. "I really don't. Isn't that crazy? I don't hate him at all. I still love him. I still want him. I'm mental, Rivvie. I need my head checked, I think." She looked up at me, her eyes full of confusion and desperation.

"I don't think you do," I said quietly. "I know it's hard for you to explain, but…I understand why you still love him. Even after I first found out that…that Sam would…well, you know…do you know what if I put myself in danger, way back before you came…I still loved him. I still wanted him. I thought I was crazy too, but…now I don't think I am. I don't think you are either. They aren't abusing us. They care about us and want to keep us safe. When we pull stupid stunts like running off and getting caught by vampires, it scares the crap out of them and they want to make sure we don't do it again and…" My voice faded away for a moment, and then I shrugged. "Like I said, it's hard to explain, but I understand what you're feeling."

Eden sighed and fiddled with a loose string sticking out of her pillow case. "Well at least you understand," she said. She was quiet again for a few moments. "He yelled at me a lot last night," she said next, still speaking softly. "He said a whole bunch of things that I didn't want to hear, but everything he said was true. I acted selfishly and stupidly, and I almost got killed because of my childish actions. And he said from now on, whenever I decided to act like a little brat, he was going to treat me like one and give me a damn good spanking. And he wasn't going to feel bad about it either, he said. I knew he was lying about that though," she added with a little snort. "He felt bad when he was done last night. I could tell. But…I could also tell that he'd do it again in a heartbeat if he had to."

I nodded as I continued to stroke her hair. "Sounds like Dean," I said. Eden sighed and nodded back. "Are you allowed to leave your room today?" I asked next, though I thought I already knew the answer to that one.

"No," she said predictably. "I have to stay in here for a whole week."

I stopped stroking her hair and looked at her, appalled. I had not been expecting that. "What? A whole entire week? What the hell?"

"I know," Eden said, sounding and looking more miserable by the second. "It's going to be awful."

I sighed. "I wonder if Sam's going to make me stay in my room for a whole week," I said as I too pulled on the thread on Eden's pillow case.

"Probably," Eden said, watching me.

I made a face and then sighed. After a moment I looked at her. "Are you…are you still very sore this morning?"

"Oh yeah," she said with a tired sigh. "Like I said, he used his belt toward the end. Damn, that hurt like hell. I never realized just how thick his belt was until last night. I got twenty licks with it," she added, her voice going tiny again, her eyes filling with tears as she remembered.

I gasped. "Twenty? Why so many?"

Eden swallowed hard again. "Because I fought him," she told me, looking shocked and angry over her rash actions. "It really was stupid of me. I hit him. And I even threw my hair brush at him," she added as her eyes went wide from the memory.

"What? Oh Eden, you didn't!" I cried out, truly shocked that she had gone that far. I knew Eden was wild and crazy, but I never thought she'd do something like that.

"I did," she confirmed. "It didn't hit him though. He caught it in mid air. And then he made me take my shorts off. See, I was fighting him over that and not doing as I was told and he came at me with the intention of pulling my shorts off himself, I guess. I panicked and grabbed my brush and threw it at him. After he caught it I somehow got him to back off for a moment and give me another chance to do as he said and take my shorts off." She stopped and swallowed hard. "And then he popped me on the ass four times with that brush."

I cringed. "Ouch," I said, flinching. "I know that hurt," I added, and Eden nodded. I sighed and reached out and patted her back. "So when did you hit him?"

I watched as Eden's face turned red. "After he had me over his knee," she mumbled. "I was being a real brat and he threatened to go downstairs and get that big paddle off the wall in the den. You know which one I'm talking about?"

My eyes just about popped out of my head at that. "Yeah," I half whispered, staring at her.

"Well he threatened to get that and use it to spank me, and I got mad and hauled off and socked him right in the calf of his leg. I got into so much trouble for that."

I shook my head as I stared at her in shock. "Yeah, I bet you did. So those were the two reasons you got so many with his belt?"

"Well, those weren't the only reasons," she admitted. "I said a lot of smart ass things during all of this. And I resisted him most of the time. Argued and stuff. He said he hadn't planned on giving me that many at first, but since I threw my brush at him and hit him and put up such a fuss he added more to that part of my punishment. And then after that I got even more added on until it was twenty." She looked up at me then, her eyes round and pleading. "Don't fight Sam when it's your turn," she warned me in a whisper. "It won't be worth it."

"Is he going to use his belt on me?" I asked, horrified. "Do you know?"

"No not for sure. But better safe than sorry, right?"

"Yeah…yeah I suppose so."

Eden was quiet for a moment as she played with that thread on her pillow case again. "Dean came back in here last night," she told me softly. "I think you and Sam were already home and in your rooms."

I frowned. "Dean came back in here? What did he want?"

"Just…he just wanted to hold me," she answered, sounding surprised. "He got in bed with me and held me in his arms and kissed and comforted me. Told me that he still loved me. It was so strange, Rivan. I didn't feel better until he did that. I fell asleep after he left the first time but I woke up not long after that, hurting and crying. I was plain miserable. But then he came in and did that and I felt…safe and loved and protected. Even though he had spanked the hell out of me, I wanted him to hold me. I needed him to do it. It's hard to explain, but I didn't feel complete until he did that," she finished.

I blinked. She had presented me with something I wasn't sure how to respond to, so after a few moments of silence I nodded again and patted her back once more.

She gave me a knowing look. "You don't understand right now," she said with a sigh. "But maybe later you will," she added.

I frowned slightly. I wasn't sure I wanted to understand. "Yeah maybe," I said anyway, just to make her happy for the moment. After that we sat there in silence once more, and that silence stretched into several minutes. Then, quite out of the blue, Eden's bedroom door flew open with a bang. We both shrieked and I jumped to my feet, standing in front of my friend protectively. I watched in quiet dread as Dean strolled into the room, not looking at all surprised to see me there. He looked at me once, and then ignored me completely, moving so he could see Eden.

"Oh come on sweetheart. Seriously?" he said to her, pointing at me. "What did I say about this last night? Damn it, Eden. Did you let her come in here? Because if you did I'm gonna have to give you another spanking."

Behind me Eden remained silentand I turned and looked down at her to find that all of the color had completely drained from her face. Furious, I spun around to face Dean. "Leave her alone!" I shouted at him. "It's not her fault that I came in here! She told me not to, but I didn't listen! So don't you dare go and blame her, you stupid dick head!"

Dean stood there, perfectly still, and gazed at me with his intense blue eyes. "Smooth," he said dryly. "Real smooth, honey. And what do you mean she told you not to come in here?" he added, his eyes flaring. Of course I didn't respond, and Dean's eyes swung over to glare at Eden, who cringed and started to cry quietly. I swear for a moment I saw Dean flinch ever so slightly, but then he was back in control, and he was staring at something on the table by Eden's bed. I looked too, and with a sinking heart I saw that he was staring at her cell phone. Without a word he walked over to the table and picked it up. Ignoring me again, he looked at Eden, addressing her directly.

"Have you been texting Rivan?" he demanded, his tone stern and hard.

Eden gave a great, pitiful sniffle, and much to my surprise she said, "Yes!" and then burst into tears. I knew then that the spanking Dean gave her last night had to have been a good one to tame Eden's wild spirit like this. I can't say he broke her spirit. No, I knew he hadn't, and I was glad. I really didn't think he'd want to anyway. I once over heard him telling Sam that although Eden's wild ways drove him crazy sometimes, he loved her just the way she was and never wanted her to lose that wild spirit of hers. So whatever he did last night, however hard he had spanked her, he had not set out to break her spirit, because to do that would be to destroy the woman that he loved. All he had done was rein that wild spirit in a bit.

And I knew, without a doubt, that was exactly what Sam was going to do to me when it came time for my punishment. But at the moment I couldn't do anything about that. I had other things to worry about, and it was standing here in front of me, glaring at me while Eden cried into her pillow. "So what if she was texting me?" I snapped at him. "What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that she's being punished and she's not allowed any privileges or entertainment right now," Dean snapped back at me. "Texting you is a privilege and entertaining. So that means doing it goes against my rules. Eden," he said, looking at her again. I turned and watched as Eden peeked out at him from her mound of pillow. "You aren't getting this back for a long, long time," he told her. "And when I say a long, long time, I mean _months_. You understand me, sweetheart?"

"Yes," Eden moaned, clearly miserable. I turned back to Dean, ready to call him all kinds of names, but then he did something that caused me to freeze.

"SAM!" he bellowed toward the open door.

"What?" Sam bellowed back instantly, his voice drifting up the stairs. As close as it was, it sounded like he had come to the stairs and was standing there when he'd yelled back up at Dean.

"Your baby girl's up here being NAUGHTY!" Dean called back, deliberately raising his voice on the last word because he knew it would embarrass me. And he was right. I felt myself turn bright red, but I didn't have time to shout at him about it.

"What?" Sam called back, and I could hear him hurrying up the stairs. Damn. "What the hell are you talkin' about Dean? Where are you?"

"In Eden's room! Rivan's in here too," he added cheerfully. I heard Sam swear, and then seconds later he was standing at the door. He looked in at me and his expression darkened instantly.

"Rivan! What the hell? I told you not to come in here!" he growled, stepping further into the room.

"You told me I couldn't come in here _last night_," I told him, trying not to sound smug. "You never said anything about this morning."

"Oh you have _got_ to be kidding me!" Dean exclaimed with a roll of his eyes. "Sam, you seriously need to bust this girl's ass big time! She's a real smart ass."

"Yeah tell me about it," Sam replied, his tone hard. "Rivan, you knew you weren't supposed to come in here at all," he said to me. "Come here. Now," he ordered, pointing to the empty spot of carpet directly in front of him.

"Oh by the way," Dean said before I could respond. "She called me a dick head again." I saw the muscle in Sam's jaw twitch. "And another thing," Dean continued before Sam could say anything to me about that. "She and Eden were texting each other. I took Eden's phone away from her. I figured texting ought to be something they shouldn't be allowed to do for a while, especially since they'll both be spending time in their rooms."

"I agree," Sam said, and suddenly he snapped his fingers at me. I jumped at the loud, popping sound it made and stared at him in shock. "Phone," he said, holding out his hand. "_Now_." For a moment I considered being difficult, but there was something in Sam's eyes that strongly suggested that I not be. Swearing loudly, I stomped over to him, pulled the cell phone out of my pocket, and slapped it into his open hand as hard as I could. Sam didn't flinch at all, but his eyes grew darker. Without a word he grabbed me by the upper arm and jerked me toward the door, marching me out of the room. I glanced back at Dean, who was standing there by Eden's bed and staring down at her.

"Don't do anything to her!" I shouted at him, sounding desperate. "It wasn't her fault that I came in here, she told me to go back to my room the second I stepped through the door! I ignored her! It wasn't her fault, it wasn't her fault!" Dean said nothing, only turned his back on me completely. Wailing, I struggled as Sam drug me out of the room. Once we were in the hall he slammed Eden's door shut and then started dragging me toward my room.

"Stop Rivan," he warned me as I tried to break free of his grip. "Dean isn't going to do anything to her."

"How do you know that?" I wailed at him as we headed for my room.

"I just do. She didn't do anything wrong and he knows that. He won't punish her unless he catches her in the act of breaking one of his rules." I very much wanted to tell Sam where I thought Dean should stick his rules, but figured it wasn't the best of ideas at the moment. So I stayed quiet as Sam and I reached my bedroom door. When we paused I saw him shove my phone in the pocket of his jeans, and I sighed quietly but said nothing as Sam opened the door. Once we were inside my room and he had the door closed, I expected him to let go of me, but he didn't. Instead he suddenly turned me around and hauled off and smacked me on the ass five times. _Hard_.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, **OW**!" I screeched as each blow landed with a loud pop. "Saaaam!" I wailed in shock as he finally let me go. I stumbled away from him, staring at him with wide eyes.

He looked back at me, his own eyes hard and stern. "That was for going into Eden's room when you knew you weren't supposed to," he informed me as he crossed his arms over his chest. "And don't you _dare _give me that line about not knowing you weren't supposed to go in there this morning!" he added loudly when my mouth flew open.

He took a step toward me when I glared at him, his eyes full of promise. Still I stood there and stared back at him in defiance, which was not a recommended response. His eyes flared and he started toward me, and I shrieked. "Fine, okay!" I howled, finally backing down. But to my horror he kept coming. "Sam, nooooo!" I pleaded as I turned to run, only to realize there was nowhere to run. He caught up to me all too quickly, and again he grabbed my arm and turned me around. He landed another five hard, fast blows to my ass, and I wailed loudly as he delivered the last blow. He let go of me and again I stumbled away from him, and tears filled my eyes and spilled over, running down my cheeks as I stared at him.

"I'm not putting up with your crap anymore, Rivan!" he snapped at me. "From now on when you don't listen you're gonna pay a price, and from now on if you challenge me you damn well better be prepared for that challenge to be answered! Do you understand me?"

"Yes!" I said quickly, not at all interested in pushing him any further. "I understand!"

"Good! Now I want you to listen to me, and I want you to listen to me very closely. You're gonna stay in here for the rest of the day. There won't be any need to come out at all. Is that clear?"

I stared at him. "But I'm hungry," I said in a small voice. "I haven't had anything to eat yet. Can't I at least go down to the kitchen and have breakfast?"

"No," Sam snapped. "I'll bring something up here in a little while for your breakfast."

For a moment I continued to stare at him, and then I felt my lower lip tremble. I reached up and wipe some of the tears from my face as I watched him. "But…why can't I eat in the kitchen?" I whined at him.

"Because you're going to eat in here, Rivan," he told me. "And you're gonna eat your lunch in here, and your dinner." My mouth flew open to protest and he raised both eyebrows at me. "Do you have a problem with that?" he asked me very quietly.

Well of course I did but of course I was at least smart enough not to share it with him. Feeling cornered and frustrated, I had to fight hard to resist the urge to kick something, mainly Sam. Instead I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at the floor. "No," I grounded out, fighting back the desire to swear at him.

"Good," he said, and suddenly he turned and started toward the door. "I'll be back in a little while with your breakfast. Oh, by the way," he added as he paused and looked back at me. "If you walk out this door at any time today, you better pray I don't catch you. Because if I do, by the time I'm done with you, you won't have much of an ass left. Got it?"

The room filled with an icy chill, and for a moment all I could do was stare at him. This quickly irritated him, and deciding it would be best not to cause any more problems today I quickly nodded. "Yes," I told him in a squeaky whisper. "I understand." Sam said nothing, and I watched as he turned and left.

I stood there for a moment holding my breath, and then when it was obvious that he was not coming back any time real soon, I released the trapped air and then wandered over to my bed, rubbing my stinging ass as I walked. Sam had never smacked me that many times in a row, and certainly never that hard. The idea that I was going to get worse than that had me pouting, and I threw myself on my bed and buried my face into my pillow. Yeah, it was official. This day was going to suck out loud.

I was right. Sam returned about forty-five minutes later, carrying a plate that held a toasted egg sandwich in one hand and a glass of orange juice in the other. After placing the plate and the glass on the table by my bed, he turned and left without saying anything to me. Muttering a few choice words, I forced the sandwich down and drank the juice, perhaps a bit too quickly. When I was done I fell back on my bed and stared up at the ceiling, my stomach churning.

That's pretty much how I spent the rest of my day. Much to my aggravation I remembered that all the books that I brought with me were down stairs in the living room, which had become my favorite place to read. Blah. The hours ticked by. The only time I saw Sam again was when he came into my room around noon, bearing another plate. This time he brought me a turkey and cheese sandwich, and a glass of diet coke. I sat up quickly and asked about Eden as he put the new plate and glass on my bed side table and took the dishes from my breakfast.

"Is she okay?" I asked anxiously. "Dean didn't spank her again, did he?"

"Of course not," Sam told me as he turned and headed for the door. "I told you, she didn't do anything to earn another spanking." I opened my mouth to respond but he was already gone, pulling the door shut with a harsh snap.

I didn't eat much of my lunch. After a couple of bites of the sandwich and a few sips of diet coke, I abandoned the food and threw myself back on the bed. I wasted an hour just lying there staring at the ceiling, and at one point after that I fell asleep. When I woke up it was almost three in the afternoon, and my lunch and drink was gone. I sat there for a few minutes, thinking, and then I got up. And then all of a sudden a fresh wave of stupid defiance hit me out of the blue, and without a second thought I marched right out of my room and straight to Sam's. He very rarely stayed in his room during the day, so I was pretty confident that I wouldn't find him there now.

Sure enough, when I opened the door the room was empty. I instantly spotted what I had come in for after one look around the room. My cell phone was sitting on the dresser and I relaxed and crossed the room and snatched it up. I had been afraid that Sam still had it with him. But I had gotten lucky, and luck stayed with me as I left the room. Then in another daring move I went to Dean's room and walked right in. Eden's cell phone was on the table by the bed, and I hurried over and grabbed it and walked back out. The hallway was empty and quiet as I carefully closed Dean's bedroom door, and triumphantly I went to Eden's room, bent down, and slid her phone under the door. That done, I went back to my room and closed the door quietly.

For all of five seconds I stood there feeling happy and free due to my rash move. After all, who the hell were they to say Eden and I couldn't have our phones and text each other? Such high handed treatment! But just as suddenly as my daring defiance had come to me, it left me in an almost violent rush as I thought, belatedly, about the consequences of my actions. If Dean found Eden with her cell phone, he would probably think she had stolen it back herself and no doubt would give her another spanking. Probably not as bad as the one she got last night, but because of how sore she still was just a few smacks would be awful to bear.

I swore out loud at myself and looked down at my phone. I sent Eden a text as quickly as possible. _Sorry I should not have done that I had a moment of serious stupid! Do not reply back to me and hide your phone somewhere until I can get it back and but it back in Dean's room. If he happens to find it before I can do that I will take all the blame._

I got one tiny reply back, but it was just a smiley face to acknowledge that she got my text and that she wasn't mad at me for stealing our phones back. I relaxed a little, but then swore again as I stomped back to my bed. I shoved my phone under the other pillow beside the one I used and then flopped back down on the bed. Geez, I could be so stupid sometimes! What had made me do that? _You just answered that. Pure stupidity_. That little voice in my head whispered to me.

"Thanks a lot," I muttered, though I knew the voice was right. Groaning, I ran my fingers through my hair.

I sat there for a few more minutes, and suddenly feeling tired, draggy, and resentful toward everything and nearly everyone, I found all I wanted to do was go back to sleep. So after sitting there for a few minutes and gazing around the empty room, I fell back on my pillow and pulled the covers over me. I stayed awake a bit longer than I wanted to, and then finally sleep took its hold on me. But it was an uneasy rest. I tossed and turned for quite a while, and when I finally fell into a solid sleep, the only thing I found waiting for me was a nightmare. I spiraled off into it with no way to stop myself, and for several hours I laid there, a prisoner in my own mind, tormented and abused by the one that had captured me only a few weeks ago.

* * *

><p>With a violent jerk that almost sent me flying out of the bed and onto the hard floor, I pulled out of my dream. Or more correctly, my nightmare. Of course, I'd had yet another one of James holding me and Eden captive, and all that went on while he had us. My second one since we'd been rescued. Thankfully this one had not been as bad, but it was bad enough. Groaning, I forced myself into a sitting position and leaned over to switch on the lamp beside my bed. The clock next to the lamp told me it was a little after seven in the evening. I'd been asleep for almost five hours, and, no doubt thanks to my nightmare, I was covered in sweat. Yuck. Groaning again, I crawled out of bed. I was no longer tired, despite my nightmare, and now all I wanted to do was take a shower. I stumbled over to the dresser where I had unloaded all of my clothes, which was a real luxury since all I had been doing was living out of a suitcase for the past two years.<p>

I opened the top drawer and was greeted with the sight of something that usually brought me joy and comfort. My most favorite thing to wear at night. There in the drawer, folded neatly, was one of Sam's many, long sleeved shirts that he had. I had snitched this one, its color a dark blue with light blue stripes, not too long ago, and I found that I always slept better when I had it on. I wasn't too sure how well that magic would work for me tonight though. Not with everything that had happened today. Sighing, I glanced over at the table by my bed. Sam had said he would bring my dinner up here, but he had not done so while I'd be asleep. Oh well. I really wasn't hungry right now anyway.

I made a face at nothing in particular as I took the shirt out of the drawer along with a pair of panties and blue sleep shorts. I hurried to the bathroom, eager to wash the sweat off of me. Despite the upsetting day that I had had, I took my time and allowed myself to enjoy my shower, using my expensive body wash that I had talked Sam into buying me from Bath & Body Works one day, long before I'd been kidnapped by James and his fellow vampires. It was the only other gift he had bought me beside my rabbit.

When I stepped out of the shower I was clean and smelled heavenly, and once I had dried off I sprayed on a bit of the body mist that matched my body wash. Japanese Cherry Blossom. Loved the stuff. The smell of it seemed to perk me up a bit, and I dressed quickly. Despite what had happened today and what was still to come, I found that I could still get some comfort from wearing my Sam shirt. After I had rolled the sleeves up to my elbows I stepped back and looked at myself in the mirror. My sleep shorts weren't very long, but the shirt was, stopping just above my knees. Sam was a big man, and me being only five foot three inches tall, his shirt almost swallowed me. I couldn't help but smile at myself a little as I gazed at my reflection. Even though I wasn't real happy with Sam right now, I still adored wearing his shirt. Yeah, I'm pretty easy to please.

Finally I left the bathroom, towel drying my hair as I did. I opened the drawer again and pulled out a pair of clean, black socks and sat on the edge of the bed to slip them on. With that done I went back into the bathroom and fired up the hair dryer, aiming it at my half dried hair. After working on it for several minutes I decided it was dry enough, and after unplugging the hair dryer and putting it away I left the bathroom, feeling a bit better and even a little reenergized. For a few moments I stood there in the middle of the room, not sure what to do now. Then quite suddenly my nightmare about James came back to me in a rush, and I knew I had to talk to someone. The only person I could think of that I wanted to talk to about it was the one person that was forbidden to me. But suddenly I didn't care. So what if I got caught? I really couldn't make my situation any worse, could I? It was already rather bad.

So with that decided, once again I left the room against my better senses and went down the hall to Eden's room. For a moment I paused and looked around carefully. Everything was quiet. Biting down on my lip, I knocked very softly on the door and waited a few moments, and then got impatient and opened the door.

"Eden?" I called out in a whisper as I peeked into the room. "Are you awake?" All of the lights were on in her room, but Eden was nowhere in sight. I stepped further into the room to see if she was in the bathroom, but I saw that the door was open and the light in there was off. For a moment I just stood there and stared at the empty room. Where could she have gone? Despite Eden's wild streak I certainly hadn't ever imagined her to be daring enough to leave her room when she knew she wasn't supposed to. Not after what Dean had done last night, and what he had no doubt promised he would do if he caught her outside of her room.

Feeling more than a bit worried now, I left Eden's room and headed for the stairs, passing my own bedroom. As I did I heard a tiny beep coming from it, and I recognized it as my phone telling me I had a text message. My heart leapt into my throat. I hurried into my room, snatched the phone off the table beside the bed, and glanced at it quickly as I left the room without thinking. The message was from Eden of course, and all it said was, _Rivan!_

_What? Where are you?_ I texted back frantically, and waited as I walked down the stairs. As soon as I cleared the last step I suddenly realized what I had done. I froze, expecting to hear an angry shout or to see an angry Sam heading my way. But much to my surprise I saw no one and heard nothing, so cautiously I kept going, wandering to the front of the house and into the den, feeling confused and nervous. My phone beeped at me again and I glanced at the screen.

_With Dean!_ Was all Eden had sent. I blinked down at the phone. With Dean? As I stood there bright lights suddenly filled the room as a pair of headlights flashed across the window, which looked out on the front yard. I moved closer to the window and saw the Impala turning around, getting ready to head out on the road that led into town. Before it turned completely around I could see Dean in the driver's seat, and Eden sitting next to him

_Hey!_ I texted her. _Where are you two going?_

Eden sent back a message that caused my heart to flutter around like a panicked bird trapped in a cage. _Be careful. It's your turn. :-( _

Again I froze. I stood there and watched as the Impala drove away from the house, and then looked back down at the screen. It's my turn. My turn. Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, _oh no!_ Shit! Dean had taken Eden off for the night, the same way Sam had taken me off just last night, when Dean had spanked Eden. Ah, crap. Why had I not expected this? Sam had warned me that my punishment might come sometime today. Had I thought he was joking? Idiot! Swearing softly, I closed my phone with a quick flick of a finger and then spun around, fully intending on charging up the stairs and locking myself in my bedroom. But I didn't even get a fighting chance. I turned and slammed right into a solid wall of muscles and quick reflexes.

Sam's arms wrapped around me quickly, catching me before I fell backwards onto the hard floor. Once he had me steady though he kept his arms wrapped around me, and as I looked up at him with wide eyes I placed my right hand on his chest while dropping my left hand, which held my phone, down to my side, trying to hide the fact that I had it. It would not do to be caught with it on top of being caught out of my room after his horrible warning about that.

I expected him to start yelling at me about being out of my room, but Sam just stared down at me, his hazel eyes cool yet intense. And determined. _Damn_. "Going somewhere?" he asked, his tone calm as he raised both eyebrows at me.

I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came out as I stared up at him. My heart had picked up speed big time, and as close as he was holding me I wouldn't be surprised if Sam could feel it hammering away. I opened my mouth again and this time a few words came out, though it was nothing intelligent. "I…um…I—bed…I…" And my voice faded away as Sam pressed his lips together in that way of his that meant he had quickly become exasperated and more than a bit annoyed.

"You were going to bed? You just got up, and from the smell of it, took a shower before you came down here," he added, and he leaned down a bit and inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of my body wash and body spray. His lips brushed my neck just barely, and I couldn't help the shivery response to the sensation. "Japanese Cherry Blossom," he quickly identified the smell. "You haven't used that in a while," he added as he lifted his head and looked down at me again.

"I, uh, yeah I know. I like to…save it," I told him softly as I continued to stare up at him with wide eyes.

"Of course," he murmured, looking down at me. "What are you doing out of your room?" he asked next, speaking quietly.

I opened my mouth again to answer, and again all that came out were stuttered and mangled words. After only a few seconds of this Sam cut me off. "Never mind," he told me, his tone heated. "We'll talk about that in a little while." Silence fell between us again, and then suddenly he frowned. "Ah. So that's where that shirt got off to," he said, tugging on the collar of the shirt, his shirt, that I had on. "I've been looking for it."

In that instant I realized I could talk clearly, and even think clearly. "If you want it back, I can take it off," I said quickly, jumping on an idea. "I can take it off…_right now_," I added, my voice becoming a husky purr as I tilted my head and gazed up at him with a suggestive smile. I held my breath, praying it would work. Pretty desperate I know. But hey, I had to try.

For a moment an amused smile flashed across Sam's face, but it was gone an instant later and he stood there studying me, his expression serious. "Cute," he said quietly. "And, I have to say, a tempting offer. But it's one I'll have to pass on right now. Unfortunately there are…_other_ things that I need to do tonight," he added, and his tone went dark.

I inhaled sharply and for a moment I considered trying to fight my way out of his arms. But at the last moment I opted for a more subtle approach and started to slowly try to work my way out of his arms. But just one try proved it was pointless. He refused to let go, and fighting back a sudden, desperate whimper, I looked back up at him. "Sam…please," I whispered, and to my horror my eyes suddenly filled with tears. Crying already and he hadn't even lifted a finger yet! _Wimp!_ I thought disgustingly.

Sam said nothing. He kept his eyes locked onto mine, and then suddenly I felt his hand move. Keeping one arm wrapped around my waist, he used his other to move down, sliding his hand down my arm and to my hand…the one holding my forbidden cell phone. Ah, _hell_. My eyes dropped to stare at a button on his shirt as he pried the phone out of my hand. He held it up and studied it for a moment, and then looked back down at me. "When did you manage to get this out of my room?" he asked me in a quiet and rather scary voice.

I swallowed hard, started to speak, choked on my words, and closed my mouth. After a few seconds I stopped trying to respond and I just stood there trembling.

"When, Rivan?" Sam suddenly snarled, and I gave a violent start.

"I don't know, I don't remember when!" I rushed the words out, my voice shaking. "Sometime this afternoon!"

Sam's arm tightened around my waist a little, and he looked back down at my phone. "I'm willing to bet Eden has her phone too." It wasn't a question.

"Yes but she didn't get it herself!" I quickly answered, desperate to make it clear she had nothing to do with the phone situation. "It was all my idea. I got her phone out of Dean's room myself and then slid it under her door. Then I realized how much trouble she could get into and I texted her and told her not to text me and to just hide the phone. I told her I would try to get it back and sneak it back into Dean's room, but I told her if he found out she had it before I could do that I would take all the blame, since it was all my fault. She hasn't texted me or done anything with it since I slipped it under her door."

"Uh huh," Sam said, his tone dry. "So then who sent this message warning you to be careful because it's your turn?" he asked, and I realized he had looked at my last text message.

I stood there, horrified. "It was just that one text," I told him in a small voice. "She was just…she was just…warning me. That's all. Sam, please call Dean and tell him that she wasn't the one that got her phone out of his room. She risked taking it to send me that text and I'm sure he caught her. Please call so she won't get into more trouble!" I begged.

"No," Sam said calmly. Too calmly. "He probably won't do anything to her while they're out. I'll tell him when they get back. She'll be fine for now."

This did not reassure me any at all. "Sam, you know how unpredictable Dean is! What if he pulls over on the side of the road and—"

"Enough!" Sam suddenly snapped, and I cringed. "If he pulls over on the side of the road and spanks her, so be it. You didn't think before you acted when you walked out of your room to get the phones, Rivan. There are always consequences when you act rashly. You're going to learn that tonight," he vowed, and my lower lip began to tremble as I watched him slip my phone into his pocket once more. "If you get that back anytime real soon, you better consider yourself very lucky," he told me. Then suddenly he let go of me and I stepped back, wrapping my arms around myself and staring up at him with huge eyes.

Sam stepped back too and pointed at the door that led out of the den and into the living room, which then led to the stairs. "Upstairs," he ordered me. I didn't move and Sam didn't give me the privilege of thinking about it. "_**NOW**_!" he bellowed at me, and I could literally feel the color drain from my face. With a voice as deep as Sam's the whole bellowing thing made for a strong scare tactic. I jumped about a mile before I took off, half running out of the room as the tears in my eyes finally broke free and started their journey down my cheeks. I swiped at them as I charged through the living room and up the stairs with Sam right behind me.

"Don't even think of going into that room and locking that door," Sam warned me as I reached the top of the stairs before he did. "You know I can pick that lock in two seconds flat." I stopped suddenly and turned to stare down at him. Surprised by my sudden pause, he stopped as well, a few steps down from me, and looked up at me. I made a face at him, and he raised one eyebrow at me, which I would have found interesting if the situation hadn't been what it was.

Anyway, I made a face at him and then opened my big, stupid, smart mouth. "Two seconds?" I repeated, my tone heavy with disgust. "Are you joking? With that kind of flimsy lock? It shouldn't take you but half a second to pick it. What, have you suddenly developed a bad case of lame recently? What kind of hunter can't pick a bedroom lock in half a second? Only a really crappy one, I can tell you that. How're you supposed to protect anyone if that's the best you can do—_oh shit_!" I suddenly shrieked, for Sam had started moving again, and fast. And the look on his face…crapola, had I ever pissed him off.

Geez, what a really great thing to do! Piss off the man that's about to spank the absolute hell out of you! I groaned silently at my stupid self. "Real great job, Rivan!" I snarled out loud as I turned and bolted, very eager to get as far away from my pissed off boyfriend as I possibly could. I practically flew into my room, moving way over on the other side near the bed before I turned back around to stare at the open door. Sam came through it seconds later, and though we were the only two in the house, he closed the door, no, slammed it, hard, and I jumped at the cracking sound it made.

Staring at him, my tears suddenly started coming faster and thicker. He stood there for a few moments and stared back at me, his handsome face set in stern, determined lines that, outrageously, only seemed to enhance his good looks. I mean, come on! How the hell can a man look sexy, or in this case sexier, when he was pissed off? It was just like the other night, when he was standing in this very room with a switch in his hand, looking very determined to use it on my ass. It wasn't fair that he could look so good in situations like this!

But there he was doing just that, as bold as you please. This really irritated me past the point of logic, and I used it to build up a strong shield of defiance. I straightened suddenly and clenched my hands into fists and glared at him. "You can't do this Sam!" I told him, speaking loudly and erratically. "I am not a child!"

For a moment he just stood there and studied me. "No," he agreed. "No, you're not, Rivan," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're definitely not a child. And that makes me wonder why you do some of the irresponsible, thoughtless things that you do."

I stared at him. "You mean me running away? That was not irresponsible or thoughtless!" I half shrieked at him. "I did it to protect you!"

Sam snorted and shook his head, propping his hands on his hips. "Yeah, about that theory," he snarled quietly, and, dropping his hands from his hips, he began to advance on me. My eyes flew wide open in panic and I started backing away. "Who got sent to whom for protection in the first place?" he demanded. "Last I checked, you were sent to me and Dean because you needed protection because you couldn't handle what was coming after you! Did you honestly think that after spending just two years with me and Dean that you'd learned enough to take on a bunch of vampires by yourself?"

Hmmm. Annoying man. He had a point, damn him. Well, my heart had been in the right place, hadn't it? Isn't that what mattered? "I don't know," I told him as I continued to move away from him. I turned slightly to avoid being backed into the wall and trapped there, but now I was heading toward the bed, which I didn't realize until it was too late. The back of my knees hit the edge of the bed, and down I went, landing hard on the mattress. I stared up at Sam, who was now standing only a few feet away from me, glaring down at me.

"I wanted to take the ring away so the vampires would leave you alone," I told him, my voice softer now. "I knew they would follow me where ever I took the ring."

"Of course they would, and they did! They followed you, and Eden, and neither one of you knew a damn thing about fighting them off! Dean and I have been doing this for years, Rivan! That's why Jo sent you to us, and later sent Eden! To protect _you_! And we were doing a fine job of it too! I was protecting you, and then you were stupid enough to walk away!" Sam paused a moment in his angry rant, shoving his fingers through his hair in frustration. Then he was off again, sounding more furious than before.

"Damn it Rivan, those vampires could have torn you to shreds! You and Eden! Do you have any idea how cruel they can be? Of course you don't, because you haven't hunted them for years like me and Dean! I came _so_ close to losing you! Do you know what that felt like? It was torture, Rivan, not knowing where you were, and wondering if you were even alive! I was in hell the whole time you were gone!"

I sat there and stared at him in shock as guilt flooded my mind. "I'm sorry," I finally managed to whisper, lowering my gaze to the floor. "I didn't mean to cause so much trouble."

"You didn't mean to cause so much trouble?" Sam repeated in disbelief. "What exactly did you think would happen when I found out you had taken off? Did you think I was going to go out and _celebrate_? Did you think I was going to be happy, relieved, that you were gone?"

"Well no, I…I just thought—"

"Do you have any idea how much you mean to me?" Sam cut me off sharply. "Do you even _care_?"

My head snapped up at that and I glared at him. "Of course I care!" I said, raising my own voice a bit. "Why would you say such a stupid thing?"

"Because I have to wonder, Rivan! You left without thinking about how it would affect me. You were thoughtless, stubborn, stupid, and reckless. _You almost got yourself KILLED_! If I had lost you, that would have been it for me. I wouldn't have been able to deal with it! Did you even care about that?"

"YES YOU MORON!" I shouted, and then I snatched a pillow off the bed and threw it at him. He dodged it quickly and easily, and I considered throwing the other one at him. But the look he gave me suggested strongly that I not do it. For a moment I thought about telling him a pillow was better than a hair brush, but then decided against that as well. So in the end I settled for giving him a dirty look. "I'm sorry, okay?" I snapped at him. "I'm sorry I left! I'm sorry I dragged Eden into it! I'm sorry that I worried you so much and put you through hell! I'm sorry!"

"You're _sorry_? Sorry isn't going to cut it Rivan, and you know it. I am not going to lose you. I will do anything it takes to keep you safe and with me. And if dragging you over my knee and spanking the hell out of you is going to keep you safe, then that's what I'm going to do!"

I felt the blood rush to my face in embarrassment, but still I glared at him defiantly. "No! You can't do that!" I yelled at him. "What right do you have to punish me like that?"

"_**I HAVE EVERY RIGHT**_!" he roared back at me, taking my breath away. "All my life all I've ever done is lose people! I lost my mother, then I lost Jess, and then my father! And not to mention all of the friends I've lost over the years! Good friends, good people! People I loved! And to make things even worse, I was the reason most of them died! It tears at my guts _every single day_, and it has been for as long as I can remember! But then you came along and I fell in love with you, and you eased that pain! Didn't you ever realize that, Rivan? Since we've been together I have experience actual happiness and peace. I feel like I have something worth fighting for again! I feel like I have a future! And all because of you! And then you took off with some stupid notion of protecting me when you didn't know a damn thing about protecting yourself! And because of that you almost got killed! Do you know what I would have been if you had died? Nothing. An empty shell. I have been there and done that Rivan, and damn if I'm going to do it again. Because if I did, I wouldn't survive it a second time. So yes, I have every right in the world to punish you for putting yourself in that kind of danger. Because I am _sick and tired_ of **losing**!"

He raised his voice a bit on that last word, and I cringed. Silence filled the room after that furious and passionate speech. I found that I could not hold Sam's gaze for longer than a second, and I looked back at the floor as more tears filled my eyes. Then Sam suddenly moved and I looked up quickly to see that he had gone to the windows and was now pulling down the shades, closing out the moonless night. When he was done he turned back to face me and I watched as he unbuttoned the cuff on the left sleeve of his shirt and began to roll the sleeve up. He got that one up and started working on the other one. For some reason that action caused me to freeze, and all I could do was stare at him. He was really and truly going to do this. And all I could do was sit there and watch as he rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, exposing muscular arms that rippled with strength. When he was done he looked at me, and after taking in that look I found that pride and defiance was now a foreign thing. I was now ready to plead and beg if I had to.

So I did. "Sam please," I begged, my voice tearful and pathetic. "Please don't. I'm sorry. I'm _sorry_ that I hurt you. I am _so_ sorry! I'm sorry that I scared you. I'll never do it again, I swear. I'll never run away again, I promise! Just, _please_ don't do this!"

"Too little, too late," he replied quietly, and my heart clenched painfully in my chest. I opened my mouth to plead with him again, but suddenly he moved. He moved fast, faster than I thought he could, and the next thing I knew he was pulling me off the bed. Then he sat down on the edge of the bed, and at that point I got a little of my defiance back. Or maybe I should say a lot of my stupidity.

Despite Eden's wise words about not attacking him during my punishment, I balled my right hand into a fist and swung out with all my might, aiming for his head. Sam moved though, and all I ended up punching was his shoulder, which I realized in that moment was a whole hell of a lot harder than it looked. And it looked pretty hard to begin with. I cried out in pain and rage, furious that I had hurt me more than I had hurt him. But I didn't have much time to have a proper fit over it, because Sam moved again and before I could howl a protest I was face down across his lap in that classical, good old fashion position usually reserved for naughty children. I felt the back of my shirt being pushed up, and I shivered a little as the palm of Sam's hand brushed my bare back.

"Just for the record," he told me as he moved me slightly, repositioning me. "Hitting me was a real stupid move."

His words barely registered, and I finally got to howl out my protest, which of course was thoroughly ignored. Desperate now, I placed my left hand flat on the mattress and my right hand on Sam's left knee, and tried with all my might to push myself out of this horrible position. I was wasting my strength though. Sam had his arm wrapped firmly around my waist, and the result was like an iron band pinning me down, efficiently holding me captive. I wailed, and then suddenly I was side tracked from my hissy fit.

A loud crack rent the air, and seconds later I felt a sting across my ass. My eyes went wide, one hand clutched the bedspread while the other, still on Sam's knee, got a fistful of denim, and I gasped loudly as I realized that my spanking had started. Before I could recover just a little from the first blow, another one landed, followed quickly by a third.

I found it odd that while these smacks were shocking, they really didn't hurt. They stung slightly, but it was nothing to carry on about really. But carry on I did! I shrieked and wailed and howled, and at one point I hauled off and slapped the crap out of Sam's leg, though it was the same as hitting his shoulder. My hand stung like crazy, while all the blow did to him was piss him off.

I cried out as Sam smacked me across the ass again, and this time it definitely hurt. "That's twice now that you've hit me Rivan," he said, and I could hear the quiet fury in his voice. "Don't do it again," he warned me, his tone dark and stern, taking the wind out of my sails of defiance. He didn't give me time to respond. He just started up again, and this time the blows were a bit harder. I don't know how many times he smacked me. I stopped counting at fifteen, because the sting of the blows was becoming increasingly worse. Then all of a sudden he stopped, but before I could relax and entertain the absurd idea that he was done, I felt his fingers slide under the waist band of my shorts.

Before I could shriek he had them pulled down to my knees, and now all there was between his hand and my ass was a pair of lacy, white boy shorts. My favorite kind of panties, because I knew, and forgive me for a moment of bragging, that I looked awesome in them. I also knew that Sam agreed with this, and for a moment I hoped the sight of those panties would put him off the idea of punishing me and put him on the idea of doing something else with me. A stupid, desperate dream.

Sam didn't even pause to admire the panties. As soon as my pj bottoms were at my knees the spanking started again, and now he was getting serious. For quite a while he concentrated on only one butt cheek, my left one, and the heat that built up in it was terrible. Unable to fight it any longer, I burst into tears, begging him to stop. He did, but only to switch to the other cheek. He gave it the same treatment, and I buried my face against the bedspread and sobbed into it.

Again he stopped, and this time I didn't dare hope that he was done. He wasn't. In one quick movement he pulled my panties down to meet my pj bottoms, and upon having my bare bottom exposed to him in such an embarrassing way, I arched my back and wailed with all my might. I tried frantically to reach back and cover my ass to stop him from smacking it, but the arm he had wrapped around my waist made that impossible to do. He brought his hand down across my bare backside with what I was certain was all of his strength, and I screamed in pain and surprise, shocked at how badly it hurt! And that's the way it went for what seemed like hours, but was really only several minutes. His hand cracked down over and over, striking one cheek and then the other with very little restraint. The fire he was lighting on my ass was incredibly painful, and in my mind's eye I pictured my cheeks as two glowing red beacons.

As the spanking continued I wailed, I sobbed, I begged, I pleaded, and I tried apologizing, over and over, but none of it did any good. He had set out to teach me a lesson. A very thorough lesson. So thorough in fact, that I was quite certain that I was going to suffer the same fate as Eden and not be able to sit comfortably for a least two weeks, if I was even that lucky.

The spanking went on and my mind grew more frantic by the second. _Oh come on! His hand has to be tired by now! _"Saaaaam!" I finally wailed, unable to help myself. "Please! Stooooop! I get the point, I get the point! I won't do it again, please stop!"

"When it's time to stop, I'll stop," Sam replied, not pausing at all. "But that time hasn't come yet, Rivan. You're in for the long haul on this one, baby." The usage of his pet name for me broke my heart and I began to sob again while starting to kick my legs, hoping that would throw him off and make him stop. He did stop, but only long enough to reach down and give the back of my leg, just above the bend of my knee, a hard, solid smack.

I jumped violently and would have fallen off his lap if he had not been holding me there. "Owwww!" I shrieked at him. "What did you do that for?"

"Stop kicking your legs," he told me as he moved me again. "If you do it again I'm going to pop you again, right on the same spot. Understand?" My only response was to whimper loudly and drop my head onto the bedspread, where it muffled my cries. Suddenly though his hand cracked down on my leg again, exactly in the same spot. Again I jerked violently and started to bawl again.

"I asked you a question, Rivan," Sam said quietly, though his voice carried through my sobs to my ears. "I want an answer. Do you understand what I just said?"

I lifted my head up for a moment so I could answer. "_**YES**_!" I howled between my sobs, and hid my face in the bedspread again.

"Yes what?" Sam asked, his voice clipped.

I blinked. Huh? Needless to say I found that question so confusing that my sobs actually slowed down, and I frowned at the bedspread. Yes what? Hell, that was a good question. Obviously he was looking for something to go with my answer. But what? I swallowed hard and then licked my lips nervously. "Yes I understand what you said?" I said uncertainly, making it into a question.

"Nope," Sam told me. "Not what I'm looking for." And with that he started spanking me again and I cried out, frustrated. "You're a smart girl Rivan," Sam told me as he spanked me. "Think about it." I shrieked as his hand came down hard, and my mind raced frantically. What else could a person add when they answered someone? I squeezed my eyes shut, desperate to find the answer but finding it rather hard to think straight while having my ass spanked. Damn it, this wasn't fair! I started to cry harder, and then rather suddenly an old memory surfaced from my childhood.

I could remember my mother taking me with her to visit one of her friends down the road from our house, an old man that lived alone. I could remember her telling me that if he asked me something, I should answer with a yes sir or a no sir. It was a polite way to answer someone older than me. But Sam wasn't older than me. Well, he was by a year, but that didn't count! But I could also remember my mother saying it was a way to show respect as well. Was that what Sam was looking for? Maybe. For a moment I found the idea of calling him sir embarrassing, but then Sam increased the strength of the spanking and I found all I wanted to do was answer right. It was the only answer I had and if he wanted to hear something else that was too bad. For me, that is.

"Yes what, Rivan?" Sam snapped at me as his hand came down fast and hard.

"YES SIR!" I shrieked out my answer. "Yes sir, I understand what you said!"

"Good," Sam replied, and he actually stopped spanking me. "That's what I was looking for. I expect to hear it again over the next few minutes whenever I ask you a question. Is that clear?"

I whimpered and moaned but answered as clearly as I could. "Yes sir," I told him, and I felt myself turn bright red. I wondered if I was supposed to answer that way from now on, even long after the spanking. Probably. Damn.

"Good," Sam said shortly, and to my great dismay the spanking started again. I had hoped my correct answer would end my punishment. Yeah, sometimes I can have really farfetched dreams.

I continued to wail with all my might as Sam's hand fell over and over again, and soon I found I was growing exhausted. After a while all I could do was lie there limply and sob as he spanked me in a way I had never been spanked before. This was an actual, real spanking. What I got as a child, which was nothing more than a slap or two, and even that had been rare, was nothing compared to this. This hurt like hell, and I was going to remember it for a long, long time. Which, of course, was the point.

"If you think this hurts Rivan, imagine what I went through when I found out those damn vampires had you," Sam told me, and still his hand continued to rise and fall. "I guarantee you that the pain of that was far worse than this. This is no more than you deserve, and baby, you know it."

He was right, and the knowledge of that shattered my heart. I had scared the absolute shit out of him and put him through a hell no person should ever have to go through. Especially him. A wave of horrible guilt washed over me and if I thought I couldn't sob any harder I was wrong. The sobs seemed to vibrate through my whole body, causing me to shake. But still Sam kept up the spanking. Finally after a few minutes he paused and rested his hand on my back.

"I want you to understand exactly what this spanking is for," he told me, and all I could do was whimper in response. "This is for all the "little" things that you've done," he informed me, and suddenly he started spanking me again. I let out a shriek that probably caused his ears to ring but he continued as though I hadn't made a sound. "This is for the night we rescued you and Eden, when you stood there and flat out refused to go with Eden when the time came. What the hell were you thinking, Rivan?" Sam demanded, picking up speed and adding force to the blows he was delivering to my naked ass.

"I didn't want you to go over there alone with all of those vampires!" I howled at him. "You didn't have your charm on and you were unprotected! **OWWWWWW, SAM STOP**!" I screamed as he suddenly burst into a fast and furious flurry of blows.

"Damn it Rivan!" he snarled as he gave me one last smack and stopped. "I didn't have my charm on, that's true, but _Dean_ had it on. I transferred its powers over to him before we left to get you two. We pretty much knew it was going to go down the way it did. We knew James would want me to bring him the ring, and part of the plan was that you and Eden would go to Dean, who had the charm and could protect you both! But instead you pulled that crap and refused. Everything that Dean and I do, we do for a reason, Rivan! You should know that by now, and you should trust us when we tell you to do something! It may not make sense at that moment, but you can bet whatever we're doing, we're doing for a good reason! So you damn well better listen in the future!" he added, and with that he brought his hand down again, three times on my left cheek and then four times on my right.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, OW, OUCH SAAAAAAAAAAM!" I sobbed, clutching the bedspread and giving my legs another kick. Too late I remembered I wasn't supposed to do that and as promised I got another smack on my leg and I screeched with all my might.

"I told you not to kick your legs," Sam snapped at me as I cried. I wailed and started to say something but Sam continued on, talking over me. "This is also for all the bratty little attitudes that you've pulled on me over the last few weeks," he told me, and I moaned in anticipation of another round of swats. I was not let down and soon I was sobbing again as Sam's hand made contact with my ass over and over again. "For example, all of your fits you had last night while we were out. And all of your smart ass remarks!" he added as he paddled the hell out of me as he talked.

For a few minutes after that he said nothing more as he continued to spank me, and the only sound in the room was his hand smacking my ass and my desperate pleas combined with my loud sobs. He ignored all of this, and then after another few moments he spoke again. "From now on whenever you pull any kind of attitude with me you're gonna get spanked," he told me as I twisted and jerked in an attempt to avoid his punishing hand. But no matter how much I moved his hand caught my ass every time. "Do you understand me, Rivan?" Sam demanded, stopping again.

Crap. Here was the whole "Sir" thing again. But I knew better not to say it. "Yes s-s-sir!" I moaned out, stumbling over the word as I squeezed my eyes shut and whimpered loudly.

"Good. It's like I told you this afternoon. I'm not going to put up with your crap anymore. You better remember that unless you want a sore ass all the time," he warned me.

"I'll remember," I promised desperately as I moved both of my hands and attached them to his leg. "I will, I swear I will! Please Sam, no more! Please don't spank me anymore!"

"Baby, in no way am I anywhere near done with you," he informed me, his tone firm and hard. My eyes went wide at his words and I opened my mouth, ready to let out a devastated howl, but I only got it half way out before he started spanking me again. My howl turned into another long, high pitched screech and I clutched his leg and started to sob again.

"This is also for leaving your room this afternoon when I told you not to, and for taking your phone out of my room, and Eden's out of Dean's room," Sam told me next as he whacked away at my throbbing ass. "And it's for that crap you pulled yesterday, wandering out in the woods, after Dean and I made it crystal clear that you were never to go outside by yourselves again. You and Eden were gone for almost _six hours_, Rivan. We thought the vampires had taken you again!" his voice rose with those words and the spanking grew even worse.

"Oooooooh ow, Sam PLEASE, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! We didn't mean to stay out there that long! We got lost!" I reminded him in a shrill voice, though I knew that wasn't going to go over well, just like it hadn't when we'd been caught coming out of the woods yesterday.

"And you wouldn't have if you'd kept your asses in the house like we told you to!" Sam snapped at me. He landed six more heavy blows after that and then he finally stopped. Relief spread through me and my whole body went limp, but still I sobbed. I didn't try to get up, and Sam didn't make me, and he didn't start spanking me again. For what felt like the longest time I laid there across his lap, trying to get myself back under control. Sam didn't say a thing as he waited. Finally though, when my sobs had been reduced to pitiful little whimpers, he spoke.

"Ready to get up?" he asked me quietly, his tone still hard. I must have given some sign that confirmed this, because he let go of my waist and started to help me up. I kept my face turned away from him as I struggled to sit up. As I did I noticed that at some point my panties and my shorts had completely disappeared, but at the moment I didn't care.

Finally I was off Sam's lap, and with my hands covering my face I sat down on the bed, and crap did it hurt! Even though the mattress was one of the softest ones I'd ever slept on, sitting on it with a throbbing ass hurt! I let out a little wail and quickly stood, glad that Sam's shirt that I had on was long enough to give me decent cover.

I heard Sam get up too and I lowered my hands and watched him walk over to the nearest window. He stood there facing it, even though he had drawn the shades down earlier, with his arms crossed over his chest. He stood there for several long minutes and I remained standing, wondering what I was supposed to do now. Finally I couldn't take it anymore and began to look around for my panties and shorts. But after only a few moments of searching a horrible sound caused me to stop dead in my tracks. It was a faint, clinking sound, like metal clinking against metal. I turned around slowly to find that Sam was now facing me, and his hands were working on the belt buckle of his wide, brown leather belt.

All of the energy and strength left in me completely drained out, and I felt myself collapsing on the bed, barely registering the pain of my stinging butt. So I was going to get the belt, just like Eden. I hadn't even thought about it until now. Shuddering, I sat there and watched in horror as Sam got the buckle undone, and the sound of it was terrible. But then the worse sound ever came. The sound of leather being pulled through the belt loops on Sam's jeans. I never thought something so simple could sound so frightening.

I continued to watch in silent horror as Sam pulled the belt out of the last loop, and my mind went dizzy as he bent the belt in half, clutching both ends in a tight fist. Now he stood there, the belt in his hand, his eyes hard, determined and unyielding.

"We're not done yet, Rivan," he said, and his tone was clear and as hard as stone. "Get up," he added before I could even try to think of anything to say.

I opened my mouth to reply, but at first all I got out was a gasp. Then I shook my head and my second attempt at talking was more successful. "No," I said, intending to say it loudly, but it only came out as a wimpy whisper. "No, you can't! Sam…you can't! You've already punished me! Wasn't that enough?" He didn't say anything, and for a moment he just stood there and stared at me. Then he started toward me. "No!" I shrieked this time. "Sam, that's not fair! I've been punished for what I did!"

He stopped then and narrowed his eyes at me. "You've been punished for _most_ of what you did," he corrected me. "But not all of it."

I frowned and made a desperate noise of frustration. "What do you mean?"

"I already told you, Rivan. That spanking I just gave you was for all the little things that you've done," he informed me, and the belt in his hand swayed a bit with his movement as he stepped closer. "You've been punished for almost everything that you've done. Now there's just one thing left that you need to be punished for. Running away from me in the first place," he said, his voice dropping down to a deep, menacing growl. "That is what _this _is for," he added, indicating the belt he held ready in his hand.

A moment of terrible silence filled the room, and then it was suddenly broken by a pitiful whimpering sound which I realized was coming from me. I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but all that came out was panicked gibberish which involved a few familiar words of pleading and reasons why he couldn't do this.

But Sam was done with all that. "We're not doing this anymore Rivan," he told me as he turned and started toward the only couch that was in the room. It was near the window in the corner of the room, pulled away from the wall a bit, and I watched with wide eyes as he reached it and stopped by the arm of the couch. "You're gonna come over here and we're gonna finish this. Come on," he added, lifting his free hand and beckoning me over.

I opened my mouth, closed it, opened it again, and then shook my head desperately, pleading silently now with my eyes.

But Sam stood there staring back at me with hard, dark eyes. Eyes that held no mercy, just an unmoving determination to see this through. "You know," he began, shifting slightly and hooking his thumb into the pocket of his jeans. "When I first came in here I'd planned on giving you five with my belt. But since then you've done some things that have made it clear you need a bit more than that. Like hitting me, for example. And not just once, but twice. Because of that, you're getting ten. And now here you are, still being difficult. So I'm going to be very clear with you, Rivan. If you don't come over here right now, it'll be fifteen."

"No!" I suddenly found my voice, and it was loud and whiny. "No Sam please, please don't do this to me! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please, I've been punished enough, I—"

"Have it your way," he cut me off with a snarl. "You're up to fifteen now. You want an even twenty? Keep going. I've got all night here. Five seconds Rivan," he added as I started to cry. "You've got five seconds to get over here or I swear I'll up it to twenty. And you'll get all twenty tonight. I'm not bluffing, and you know it. One," he said, starting the countdown.

"_No_!" I shrieked desperately.

But his face remained calm and cold. "Two."

"Sam, you can't do this! This isn't fair! Please do—"

"Three."

I let out a wail of frustration and slammed my fingers through my hair, trying to think of something to say to change his mind. "Eden didn't get the belt!" I howled. I don't know why I said that, because of course I knew she had. I guess I was just hoping Dean hadn't mentioned it to Sam.

He had. "Bull," Sam replied flatly. "Four," he added. I started to sob, and then I saw his mouth open, ready to deliver the dreaded last number. I let out a scream and then shot off the bed. I ran toward him and once I reached him I threw my arms around his waist and buried my face against his chest. I sobbed into his shirt, clinging to him desperately.

"Please take the extra five off!" I gasped, hoping he could understand me through my sobbing. "Please make it ten again! Please, please, please!" At that moment I was desperate, and though ten sounded like a horrible number, fifteen sounded even worse.

I felt Sam grasp my upper arms firmly, but I didn't look up at him. "No," he said, and with my face buried against his chest I could feel his voice rumbling, almost like a deep purring. Though this was more like growling to be honest. "You didn't listen to me, and now you have to pay a price for that," he continued. "That's what I'm trying to teach you, Rivan. You _have _to start learning to listen to me. Your life depends on it. That's why you're in so much trouble to begin with. Because you don't know how to listen. You're stubborn and willful, and you can't afford to be with something like this. So no, I'm not taking that extra five off. It'll be fifteen, just like I said before."

I looked up at him with huge eyes, and then I let loose with a wail upon hearing all of that, and let me tell you, it was a very pitiful, tear jerking wail. But Sam just stood there, a stony expression on his face. Then he grasped my arms a bit more firmly and forced me to let go of him. He let go of one arm, but kept my left in a tight grip as he stepped a little ways from the couch, pulling me with him. He moved until he was standing at an angle by the arm of the couch, and positioned me until I was standing right in front of the arm of the couch. Then he let go of me, and, trembling from head to toe, I slowly looked back up at him as tears streamed freely down my face.

His expression remained hard. "Over the arm of the couch," he ordered me. My eyes went so wide it felt as though they would pop out of my head, and my mouth flew open to protest. Sam cut me off quickly. "Fine then. You're up to twenty," he snarled quietly. For one horrible moment I remained absolutely still, and then I burst into loud, terrible sobs. Through my tears I saw Sam take a deep, long breath and close his eyes. Then he opened them and stared down at me.

"Rivan," he began. "This is the last time I'm going to tell you. I want you to bend over the arm of that couch _right now_. If you don't I'll just keep adding more to what you're getting already. And if the numbers get up too high then I'll give you half tonight and the other half tomorrow night. So you gotta decide what you want to do here, baby. Either bend over and take what you've earned, or keep fighting me and get more until we have to do this again tomorrow night. It really doesn't matter to me what you decide to do, Rivan," he added as he stood there and waited.

I shook my head wildly as I sobbed out many protests and pleaded with him like mad. But tonight the lenient Sam that I'd gotten use to was gone. In his place was a stern, strict, severe Sam that was ready to do whatever he needed to in order to get through to me. And he proved it when I remained frozen to the spot, crying and begging.

"Okay Rivan," he said loudly, his voice cutting through my wails. "You've got twenty-five now. Are we really gonna have to go for thirty?" he asked very quietly. His words caused me to stop in mid protest, and I stood there and stared at him. He stared back at me, not moving a muscle as he waited.

And then finally I could take no more. There was no way he was going to back down from this, and all I was doing was making it worse than it needed to be. So with dread in my heart I took a deep breath, turned my head to where I was staring at the wall across from me, and burst into renewed sobs as I bent over and lowered my shaking body over the arm of the couch. I pressed my hands against the couch and waited, crying pitifully as I did.

I didn't have long to wait. I felt Sam push the back of my shirt out of the way again, baring my ass once more. Then he rested his left hand on the small of my back, and a terrible silence filled the air. I heard a swooshing sound, and then a horrible crack, and then a searing line of red hot pain exploded across my ass. I gasped loudly as my hands desperately clutched a small pillow that was on the couch, and then I couldn't help myself. It had hurt like hell, that first blow, and I burst into loud, agonized sobs. Another blow just like it came quickly, and I shrieked again, sobbing louder still. The belt slammed into my ass again and again, and I threw my head back and screamed and cried. I'd only gotten four smacks total so far, and I still had a whole twenty-one to go. I had no idea how I was going to stand it.

The answer came quickly. I didn't stand it very well. Sam's belt brought about a fire in my ass unlike anything I had felt earlier. By the time I'd received my sixth smack I knew I would think twice, no ten times, before I ever disobeyed Sam again on anything. I would do whatever I had to in order to keep from finding myself in this situation again.

But that vow that I made to myself did nothing to help me at that moment. With every blow he delivered Sam's determination to teach me a very thorough lesson came through with a terrible clarity. _CRACK!_ There was number eight, right across the center of my ass. _CRACK! _Nine, just a little bit above my flaming cheeks. _CRACK!_ Ten, this time focused on my left cheek only. _CRACK!_ Number eleven found its way on my right cheek. There was a brief pause, and during it I was able to get out a few gasping sobs that shock had kept choked back until now. Fourteen more left. Oh God.

For the next few long and terrible minutes Sam and his belt kept my complete attention. I had gone limp long ago, bent over the arm of that couch with my ass sticking up in the air as blow after blow landed on my tender skin. It was beyond anything I could have ever imagined. _CRACK! _Number fifteen landed on my left cheek again, and that was the cheek Sam focused on for the next few blows. It was horrible and I screamed at him to stop, even though I knew it would do me no good. A few minutes later number twenty came and that one made another perfect landing across the center of my ass. I shrieked as the fire seemed to sink deeper into my skin.

Desperate beyond belief to ease the pain, I stamped my right foot hard, as though I thought I could stamp out the raging fire in my ass. It didn't work, and Sam paused to scold me for doing it in the first place.

"Don't do that again Rivan," he warned me as he pushed the back of my shirt up a little further. Apparently it had slipped down a bit with all the dancing around I was suddenly doing. "You've got five more," he added, and I heard him get a better grip on his belt as he prepared to deliver those last five.

"_**NO**_!" I wailed loudly. "No Sammy, please no!" Despite my frantic crying I could tell that Sam had gone still. I hardly ever called him Sammy. The only time I did was when I was seriously desperate for him to listen to me. This was a great example of being seriously desperate.

But I could tell already that it would do me no good at all. "If you had listened to me earlier, we would be done by now," he told me quietly. "But you didn't listen, and now you've got five more to go." I let out a great, gasping sob at that, which Sam ignored. He placed his hand on the small of my back once more, and my whole body tensed up. _Okay, five more,_ I thought desperately._ You've already lived through twenty. Surely you can take five more. Come on now, just five more left_…

But dear God in Heaven, they were the worst, those last five. They came down fast and hard. It seemed that Sam was using very little restraint as he delivered these five, but that wasn't the worst of it. All five of them caught that delicate curve where butt met thigh, and I'd had no idea that this could get any more painful.

But I knew now. Oh, you bet I knew, and you can bet I wouldn't soon forget. The force of each blow lifted me up on my toes and my fingernails dug into the pillow I was still clutching as I screamed and sobbed. I stupidly arched my back at one point, and all that did was make my butt stick up more, turning it into a more prominent target. It also made the curve of my ass that Sam seemed so focused on easier to hit. But to my dismay I couldn't seem to get myself out of the position I had damned myself to. All I could do was lie there and sob.

And sob I did. I sobbed my hardest during these last five. And I screamed too. Oh, did I ever scream. I once screamed so loudly I thought my throat muscles were going to tear. But I couldn't help it, because one of the worst blows of that last five had driven it out of me. I finally went hoarse due to that last powerful scream, and my voice was raw and worn as I continued to cry pitifully.

Finally the last one came, and I wailed in despair as it seemed to sear my skin like a white hot iron brand. But then, finally, it was over. I decided then and there, as I lay over the arm of that couch and sobbed my heart out, that I had just gotten the worst spanking in history. First drug across Sam's lap and paddled with a hand that was big, strong, and rough due to a rather harsh life, and then bent over and whipped with a belt that Sam wore every day, a strip of leather that I had never given any thought to until now. I knew from now on that it would get a lot of thought, especially if I ever got stupid enough to entertain the idea of disobeying him again in the future.

I stayed where I was as I continued to sob and gasp, and as I did I heard the clink of the belt again, and I nearly shrieked before I realized Sam was just putting it back on. Then I felt his hand on the small of my back again, and his other hand on my left shoulder.

"Come on," he told me quietly. "We're done. Time to get up." I didn't say anything as he helped me up, mainly because I couldn't due to all the crying I was doing. But I couldn't stop. Just the slight movement of straightening up caused me pain. My ass felt stiff and raw, and I knew without feeling it that it would be tender to the touch. The heat that radiated from it was so bad it was almost as though I had sat down on a pile of hot coals. Finally though I made it to my feet and once there I hid my face in my hands and cried into them, bowing my head to where my hair fell forward and covered my face. I stood there sobbing, my whole body shaking terribly. After a few seconds of this I suddenly felt Sam grasp both of my wrists. Gently but firmly he pulled my hands away from my face as I gasped and sputtered, miserable.

Silently Sam let go of my wrists and then took my hand. "Come over here," he told me, and blinded by my tears, I let him guide me over to the bed as I wrestled with my emotions and the flaming red ass I now had. Feeling very sorry for myself indeed, I watched through my tears as Sam pulled the covers back on the bed. He pulled me forward a bit and then stepped back, placing his hand on the small of my back. Go on," he told me, giving me a gentle push toward the bed. "Lie down." I really didn't want to but of course there was no way I was going to tell him that. So moving slowly and carefully, I climbed into the bed. My well punished backside made contact with the mattress, and I couldn't hold back a loud cry at the pain that caused. More tears filled my eyes as I quickly rolled over onto my stomach. I buried my face in the pillow and continued to sob, and my shoulders shook as I cried.

For a moment Sam just stood there as I sobbed, and then I heard him sigh. I felt the bed dip under his weight as he sat down beside me, and then I felt his hand on my back. He didn't move for a few seconds, and then slowly he began to rub my back. His hand was gentle and tender now, a huge contrast to what it had been only minutes ago. That soft, loving touch seemed to bring out the cry baby in me even more, and my sobs increased as Sam ran his hand up and down my back. He kept this up for a few minutes in silence, and then as I continued to cry he spoke quietly.

"Rivan," he said, and the only response I gave him was a pitiful whimper. "You need to calm down," he told me as he rubbed my back. "Come on, baby. Try to calm down a little. It's all over now. Ssssh," he murmured softly, and after a few minutes of talking quietly to me I did begin to calm down a bit. But I kept my face hidden in my pillow, and after a few more minutes of rubbing my back Sam stopped.

"Rivan," he said again. I gave no response this time, and I felt him stroke my hair. "Rivan, I want you to look at me for a moment. I've got a few things I need to say, and I want to make sure you're listening," he told me, and his tone was firmer this time, causing me to cringe a little.

I moaned pitifully, and the moan almost turned into a "No", but my throbbing rear was a great reminder of why I shouldn't push this man. So reluctantly I turned my head to where my cheek was resting on my pillow and then I opened my eyes, which were no doubt red and swollen, and looked up at him. Sam stared down into my eyes, and despite that stern look his was still wearing, I could see traces of pity and concern in his hazel eyes. Just that tiny show of compassion made me want to sit up and throw myself into his arms and sob on his chest, but I was too miserable to move, and I was afraid he wouldn't let me do that anyway. So instead I moaned again and let my eyes slide closed, which instantly earned me a sharp reprimand.

"Rivan, I said look at me," Sam ordered, and my eyes flew open to see that there were no more traces of pity, concern, or compassion. He was a stern, solid stone again, and my heart thudded painfully as he watched me with a hard look in his eyes. He let the awful silence stretch between us for a few more moments, and then finally he spoke. "You're going to spend the next week in this room," he told me quietly as he rested his hand on my back again. "You can come out in the mornings for breakfast, and in the afternoons if you want lunch, and of course in the evenings for dinner. You'll help Eden clean up the kitchen, and then you will come directly back here." He paused for a moment as though he expected me to say something, but the only sound I made was a few small gasps as I still fought to calm myself a little more.

After another few moments he continued. "If you're crazy enough to leave this room when you're not supposed to and I catch you, I will give you another spanking and you'll stay in this room for another whole week. I don't want to do that Rivan," he added, and again I could see the concern in his eyes. It was slight, but I could still see it. "But I will if I have to," he told me, and despite that concern I saw in his eyes I knew he wasn't bullshitting me. I whimpered and bit down on my lower lip, trying to fight back a new sob that wanted to burst out.

Sam was silent for a moment and then he continued, keeping his eyes on mine. "And while we're on the subject of you walking out of doors, from now on if you go near the front or back door, if you even open either one, there will be hell to pay. And if I ever catch you outside by yourself again, or with Eden again, for any reason other than the house is on fire or I told you to run, it will earn you an automatic spanking with my belt. No questions asked, no explanations. Just the belt." He paused again, and again I bit down on my lower lip, still trying to hold that sob back. "Do you understand everything I just told you?" he asked me as he kept his eyes locked on mine.

I now knew better than to hesitate in answering. "Yes sir," I managed to choke out through my remaining tears and whimpers. I'd thought about just nodding my head, but instinctively I knew he'd want a verbal answer.

"Good. You don't have any questions, then?"

"No sir," I whimpered as I shivered slightly. Still completely miserable, I closed my eyes again, whimpering and shaking.

"Okay," Sam said as he patted my back. He sat there for a few minutes, and then he sighed heavily and stood up. Very gently he pulled the covers up over me and then he turned the lamp off by my bed, and then I felt him stroke my hair again. I almost expected him to say something after that, but a deep silence had filled the room. I looked up to see he was no longer standing by my bed, and though it hurt, I twisted around to look toward the bedroom door.

He had slipped out and closed the door so quietly I hadn't even heard him leave. I stared at the closed door for several seconds, and then I lowered my head back onto my pillow. The darkness closed in on me as I lied there alone, and I started to cry again as my butt continued to throb. I cried for quite a long time after that, until I'd made myself so exhausted I simply passed out, which was a wonderful reprieve from not only my aching butt, but my aching heart as well.

* * *

><p><strong>Eden's POV: Two hours earlier<strong>

I tried to keep as still as possible as Dean backed the Impala up and started to turn around. As I peered down at the cell phone in my right hand, which I had resting on the car seat close to the passenger door out of Dean's sight, I had to wonder again about my sanity when I'd decided to take the thing. I had planned on doing so not long after Rivan had shoved the phone under my door. I had slipped it in my pocket with the intention of sending her a warning message when Dean and I left. It was only fair, after all. She had warned me. Of course at that point our cell phones had not been confiscated so it had been safer for her to send me a message than it was for me to send one to her now. But I did it anway. If Dean caught me with it the shit would hit the fan. I knew that, but I had gone and taken the forbidden phone with me when I knew I wasn't supposed to have it. Yeah, I have just left it in my room. But I just couldn't imagine going off without warning Rivan.

I nearly jumped as the phone suddenly began to vibrate in my hand, and trying not to make it sound too panicky, I quickly began to cough to cover up the noise as I glanced carefully down at the screen. _Hey_! Rivan had texted. _Where are you two going_?

Frowning, I looked up at the house and to my horror I could see Rivan standing at the window, looking out as Dean got the car turned around. What the hell did she think she was doing? If Sam caught her out of her room he'd be pissed! Even more so than he already was! I wanted to send her a text and point this out, but I didn't dare try to take the time to send such a long message. So still coughing slightly, I quickly texted her back, thankful that I automatically knew where all the buttons where on my phone without looking.

_Be careful_. I texted. _It's your turn_. :-(

I got no reply after that of course, and I didn't dare try to look back at the window as Dean guided the Impala onto the road. I gave a tiny sigh as I shifted slightly in my seat, still coughing a little without thinking much about it. I was glad Rivan and I was done texting, because now that we were on the road the light from the cell phone would have been obvious.

"Hey," Dean suddenly said, and I stopped in the middle of my cough. Crap. Had he noticed something? "Why are you coughing so much?" he wanted to know, and I instantly relaxed. "You're not getting sick, are you?"

"No," I said softly, not looking at him. During the few times I had come in contact with him today I had found that I didn't know exactly how to act around him. Because of the way he had held me so sweetly last night my feelings were no longer hurt over the spanking he had given me, and I knew he wasn't mad at me anymore, so that helped. I guess what I was mainly feeling now was embarrassment. I found it hard to look him in the eye without remembering how he had spanked my bare ass last night, and I turned bright red whenever our eyes did met, and even when he talked to me. I couldn't help it. He had literally bent me over his knee and had spanked me like a naughty child. Even if I knew I had deserved it, how could I not feel embarrassed?

As I sat there with these thoughts running through my mind my ass suddenly gave a terrible throb, and I knew I had sat in the same position for too long. It had only been a few minutes since I last shifted, but in the state my ass was in a few minutes was too much. Trying not to whimper, I shifted again, and then I couldn't hold back a sniffle or two. Damn, my ass hurt like crazy. It still felt like Dean had brought his belt down on it only a little while ago. I prayed that we wouldn't be spending a whole lot of time in the car tonight.

As we drove down the road Dean suddenly reached out and caught my hand in his. Without taking his eyes off the road he brought my hand to his lips and kissed the back of it gently, tenderly. I felt my lower lip tremble and I turned away, looking out the window. Dean was quiet for a moment and then I heard him sigh before he brought my hand down to rest on the car seat. He let it go and patted it before placing his hand back on the steering wheel.

"Still mad at me, huh?" he asked me as I stared out my window.

I swallowed hard against the lump that was forming in my throat. "No," I said quietly, and I was annoyed when the word came out in a croak.

"Hmmm," Dean murmured as he drove. "Okay. So are your feelings still hurt?" I said nothing and then after a moment he spoke again. "Eden?" he persisted gently.

I could feel my face burn and I swallowed hard. "No," I said again, and was glad when my answer didn't come out sounding like I was trying to imitate a frog.

I could almost hear Dean frown as he thought for a moment. "You're embarrassed then," he finally said, and I squirmed in my seat. "Ah, got it right this time, didn't I?" he asked softly.

I sighed softly. "Can we please not talk about it?" I begged in a small voice.

Now it was Dean's turn to sigh and for a few moments he said nothing. "Okay sweetheart, if that's what you want," he replied. "I understand," he added as he laid his right hand on top of mine. Gently he ran his thumb over the back of my hand as he drove done the road and for a while we stayed silent.

Then as I stared out my window and watched as the scenery flashed by, a tear suddenly trickled down my face and I scrambled to wipe it off as I felt another one fall. I was so intent on ridding myself of them before Dean could see them that I forgot I had my cell phone in my other hand, and I accidently hit a button on it. Instantly the little screen lit up, and just as I thought earlier it was very obvious in the dark car.

"What the hell is that?" Dean demanded, and I almost swore out loud. My heart turned into a drum beat and I continued to stare out the window as I felt panic bubble inside me. _Oh God, please, please don't let him spank me again_. "Eden!" Dean barked, and I jumped in my seat. "What is that? _Please_ tell me that is not your cell phone!"

Well if I did that I'd be lying to him, and I knew how Dean felt about any kind of lie. I'd learned that not too long after we became a couple and I'd lied to him about something. I couldn't even remember what it was I lied about. But what I did remember very well was his reaction when he found out that I'd lied. He hadn't spanked me, thankfully, but he had lit into me big time, chewing me out in a way I had never experienced before. I was in tears long before he had finished, and I remembered he made me promise several times that I would never lie to him again.

So now I said nothing in response to his question, and a horrible dread filled me when he found a good place to pull off on the shoulder of the road. As soon as he got the car parked I heard him take his seat belt off and then I felt his strong hand wrap around my upper arm. He gave me a slight jerk, nothing too rough, but enough to get me to turn and look at him. As soon as our eyes met I started to cry. I couldn't help it, and I saw him press his lips together and take a deep breath.

"Give it to me," he said very quietly. "Now." My crying turned into sobs as I did as he said. Without a word he snatched the phone out of my hand and let go of my arm. Trembling, I wrapped my arms around myself and bowed my head, waiting.

"You took this out of my room?" he demanded, and I cringed but didn't answer. "Eden, what did I say last night about answering me when I ask you a question?" Dean snapped.

"That I better give you an answer," I moaned, miserable. Damn. Why had I taken the thing? I should have just left it there in my room. Only a few minutes ago Dean was taking gently to me, and now I was in trouble again. I wondered if he would spank me right here on the side of the road. I could easily see him doing it.

"Okay then. I would love to know why you haven't given me one yet!" he snarled at me. "Did you take this phone out of my room?"

I was torn. If I said no he would want to know how I got it, and I couldn't tell on Rivan. But if I stayed quiet it would just make him madder at me. I guess my desire to keep Rivan out of further trouble was stronger than my desire to stay out of trouble myself, because I didn't say a thing. Dean swore, and out of the corner of my eye I saw him punch a button on the phone. The screen lit up again and I flinched. Damn. It was still on the text messaging section. I hadn't closed it out. He was going to find out how I got the thing anyway. I risked a quick glance at him and saw that he was reading the recent messages Rivan and I had shared. He finished quickly and looked up at me, skewering me with a dark look.

"_Rivan_ took this out of my room?" he asked, as though he couldn't quite believe what he had read. "And she took her phone out of Sam's room?" he asked next before I could think how to reply to his first question. "Damn it! That little brat! I hope Sam caught her too. I can't believe she did that!" he snarled. "She's right, she did pull a serious stupid!" Dean swore again and closed my phone with a harsh snap. "Why didn't you just say Rivan was the one who took your phone out of my room?" he demanded.

I took a deep breath. "Because I wasn't going to tell on Rivan," I told him quietly.

Dean was quiet for a handful of heart beats. "You were willing to get your ass blistered again just to protect her? She's a brat, Eden! She didn't even think about what kind of trouble you'd get into if I found you with this phone!"

"Yes she did. She said so in that text message that she sent not long after she shoved my phone under my door."

"I'm saying she didn't think about it before she did it! Damn her! I have half a mind to call Sam and tell on the brat. But I'm sure he caught her with her phone already." He swore rather loudly. "I can't believe you were going to keep quiet and let me think you had taken your phone back, Eden!"

I sniffled loudly and then looked over at him. "Rivan is more like a sister than a friend," I told him. "I'll always seek to protect her no matter what. How many times did you take the blame for something Sam did when you two were kids?" I asked him.

For a moment Dean just sat there and stared at me. Then he muttered a few dark words. "More times than I like to remember," he growled. "Here's my next question," he added, moving quickly away from that subject. "Why did you bring this with you tonight?" he asked, holding my phone up. "You knew there was a good chance you'd get caught. Why did you risk it?"

I swallowed hard. "I wanted to warn Rivan," I said simply. "It was only fair. She warned me yesterday that I was going to be the first to be punished."

Dean narrowed his eyes at me and studied me hard. "She warned you about that?" he asked. "How did she know that I was planning on spanking you last night?"

I froze, and then several vicious, startling words raced through my head. I had forgotten that Rivan had snuck down stairs and had listened to Sam and Dean's conversation. That's how she knew I was first. I sat there and stared at Dean, wide eyed and appalled at myself. Damn, I could be so stupid sometimes! Mom had always told me I was bad about speaking without thinking beforehand.

"Eden!" Dean snapped at me when I stayed silent. "Answer me! How did she know?"

My shoulders slumped in defeat and I sighed. Maybe it wouldn't matter much if I told him. Rivan was already getting her ass whipped. "After you made us go to our rooms yesterday she snuck back downstairs and listened to you and Sam talking," I mumbled, staring at my hands. "She heard you say you were going to spank me first and she went back to her room and texted me on her phone."

Dean muttered a few more dark words and ran a hand over his eyes. "Damn that girl. I think in the end she almost needed a spanking more than you did!" I didn't really know how to reply to that so I just kept my mouth shut. Dean stayed quiet too for a few minutes, and trying not to moan, I shifted in my seat again. It was agony sitting here in this car on a spanked ass, and I wished he would start the car up and get us to where ever we were going so I could get out.

But Dean wasn't done with me yet. He looked back at me sharply and I cringed and looked away. "No way," he said sternly. "You look at me right now, Eden Regina Sterling." Crap. I hated it when he called me by my full name. Again I felt my lower lip tremble and I sucked in a ragged breath before forcing myself to look at him again. He still looked plenty mad.

"You may not be in trouble for taking your phone out of my room, but you're sure as hell in trouble for bringing it with you tonight," he told me firmly. "You knew you weren't supposed to have it. You should have taken Rivan's advice and just left it in your room. But instead you brought it with you. Rivan didn't make you do that. That's all on you."

I tried to fight the new round of tears that were welling up in my eyes, but I just couldn't. I started to cry again and I looked at him with pleading, desperate eyes. "Please Dean," I whispered. "Please don't spank me again. _Please_! My ass is so sore from last night. Please don't do it. I don't think I could take any more. Please, please!"

He was quiet for a moment and he didn't take his eyes off of me. Finally after another few moments he spoke. "I think I made it pretty clear last night, and again this morning, about what would happen from now if you disobeyed me. Didn't I?" he asked me quietly.

"But I didn't disobey you!" I said with a tiny wail. "You know I didn't take my phone out of your room!"

I watched as he suddenly inhaled sharply and then exhaled slowly, trying to hang onto his temper. "Yes Eden, I know that," he snapped at me. "How you got it is not your fault. But how you handle it after that _is_ your fault. You screwed up, sweetheart. You knew better. And don't you dare sit there and try to tell me you didn't. That would be called lying to me, and you know damn good and well how I feel about being lied to."

"But Dean!" I protested shrilly. "You just gave me a terrible spanking last night! I'm still so sore! You can't spank me again! It'll hurt real bad!"

"Well you should have thought about that before you stuck your cell phone in your pocket tonight," he said simply, and my face crumpled and I started to sob. Dean let me cry for a moment and then he reached out and caught my chin between his thumb and forefinger, and the pressure he applied was gentle but firm. He forced me to look up at him, and I gazed at him through my tears as I sniffled and whimpered.

"I know how sore you are," he told me quietly. "I'm not a cruel bastard, Eden. Yes, I am going to spank you, but this spanking will be different than the one I gave you last night. It won't be as bad, but it'll be enough to teach you a lesson. So here's how it's going to go. I'm going to give you a spanking, right here and now, and you can keep your panties up. But the pants are coming down."

These words stopped my tears and my whimpering for a moment, and I stared at him. "You're going to spank me right now?" I asked in a small voice. "Right here in the car?"

"Yep," he said firmly, still keeping a hold of my chin.

"But Dean I…" My voice trailed off and I swallowed hard. "What if someone comes by and stops to see why we're just sitting here on the side of the road?"

"Eden, how many cars have you seen pass us since I pulled over?"

"Well…none," I admitted reluctantly.

"Exactly. No one is gonna go by." With that he let go of my chin and I watched as he scooted over a little bit toward me. Once he was settled he pinned me with those blue eyes of his. "Come on," he ordered, patting his right knee. "Let's get this done, sweetheart."

I stared at him as my entire face flushed a deep red. I started to tremble and my tears rushed out again as I gave him a pleading look. "Dean, please! Please, I don't want a spanking, please!"

He stared at me, unmoved by my tears and my pleading. "That's too damn bad, Eden. You're getting one and nothing is going to change that. And I'm starting to think that maybe it'll be directly on your bare ass since you obviously don't appreciate me trying to be nice! Is that what needs to be done?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

Now I felt all the color drain from my face. "NO!" I wailed frantically. "No, no, no, please no! Please let me keep my panties up at least!" Though to be honest I wasn't sure how much protection that would offer me. The panties I had on were my usual little "barely there" ones that more so resembled little scraps of lace than actual panties. But still. Any protection was better than none at all, right? Oh dear Lord, please let me be right on that…

For a moment Dean didn't say anything as he sat there and watched me. "Okay then," he finally said. "For the last time, come on," he ordered me, his eyes steely and cool.

I took that as the order to pull my pants down. "But...there's not a lot of room in here, Dean," I told him, my voice tiny and child like. "How am I supposed to get my pants—"

"Eden, I'm not telling you to pull your pants down," he interrupted me sharply. "I'm telling you to get over here and put your beautiful little body across my lap. I'll take care of the pants."

_Oh, well in that case I feel so much better_! I thought miserably. But without a word I unbuckled my seat belt and then very carefully I began to scoot toward him. Just let me say that dragging my very sore ass across the seat of the Impala was about as much fun as getting salt rubbed into a wound. I started to cry long before I reached Dean, and once I had he wrapped both hands around my waist and literally picked me up and laid me over his lap.

I wailed and closed my eyes. Damn, this was as embarrassing as last night. Though actually I think this was almost worse in some ways. At least last night I was in my bedroom while he spanked me. This time I was in the car on the side of the road. I never thought I'd ever get a spanking in the damn car! But here I was sprawled across his lap with my legs stretched out to where my feet almost touched the passenger door, while my head was right by the driver's door. I opened my eyes and stared at the silver handle on the door as I clutched the car seat and waited, still crying.

I shivered slightly when I felt Dean pull my shirt up a bit. Then I felt him hook a finger in the waist band of my pants and I cringed, waiting for them to get jerked down. But I had to do my part before that could happen. "Lift your hips up," Dean ordered next, and I started to cry harder. I remembered him giving me that same order last night, and I hated it then. Now I loathed it. But I knew better than to be difficult, so after taking a deep breath I put both hands flat on the car seat and braced myself as I lifted my hips up. I hadn't gotten them too far up before Dean gave a quick jerk, and then my pants were down. They were loose, cotton ones because that's all I could tolerate wearing, and so they came down with no problems at all. Lucky me.

I let out a sharp breath as the night air caressed my bare legs and then I whimpered again as I settled back across his lap and went back to clutching the edge of the car seat as I waited. Dean wrapped his left arm around my waist and after that there was a terrible pause.

Seconds later Dean brought his big hand down on the center of my panty clad ass, and instantly I began to sob frantically. It hurt just as badly as I thought it would. Then the next smack came, and the next and the next until Dean was spanking me pretty fast. I sobbed loudly and was louder still as I begged him to stop, but I have to admit that he wasn't spanking me as hard as he had last night. He didn't have to. My ass was so tender that just a moderate blow was more than enough to get my attention.

Dean didn't say anything as he spanked me, even though I begged him hard to stop. He was striking one cheek and then the other, and he did that a while before just focusing on one cheek at a time. Oh God, how I hated that! I dug my finger nails into the car seat and threw my head back and wailed, but his hand continued to fall over and over.

"Dean, stop stop stop!" I begged him. I twisted my body slightly to the right in an attempt to get away from his hand, but like I learned last night it didn't do me any good at all. "Dean, please stooooooop!" I howled at him. "Owwwwwwwwwww Dean stop, it HURTS!" I screamed the last word, hoping that it would startle him into stopping. A real pointless idea, because Dean Winchester is very rarely startled so much it stops him in the middle of what he's doing. His hand kept falling, and now I was getting seriously desperate. "Ooooooh Deaaaannn!" I wailed through my tears. "Please, please stoooop, please Dean it hurts so bad! NOOOOOO DEAN!" I shrieked, burying my face against the car seat and sobbing loudly.

Finally he spoke, and his hand didn't pause for one second. "Are you ever gonna do anything like this again, Eden?" he asked me, giving me a particularly sharp slap.

"Nooooo!" I wailed as I threw my head back up and sent my howl toward the ceiling of the car.

To my horror and great dismay Dean didn't stop. "No what?" he asked calmly as his hand kept coming down.

Okay, that threw me off. Apparently he was looking for something to be added to my "No" but I wasn't sure what it could be. I searched my mind frantically but I came up with nothing, and Dean's hand kept falling.

"No what, Eden?" he persisted, and I started to really get frustrated when quite suddenly the answer came to me out of the blue.

"NO SIR!" I shrieked quickly when Dean's hand suddenly traveled down to give my sit spot some attention. "No sir, I won't do it again, I swear, I promise!"

"There you go," Dean said, his voice full of approval. "That's what I was lookin' for. That's my girl," he added, and even though he gave me five more smacks his approval and his praise made me feel better. Stupid maybe, but it did, and at that point I didn't care why.

Finally though the last smack was delivered and before I had time to think Dean had my pants pulled up and then had me turned over and sitting on his lap, making sure that my ass was positioned to where there was no pressure on it. Immediately I threw my arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder. He put his arms around me and gave me a gentle squeeze, and then he started to rub my back.

"Sssh," he said softly as his strong hand rubbed soothing circles on my back. "It's done, sweetheart. Ssssh." He dropped a soft kiss on my cheek and then went back to rubbing my back and talking softly to me, just like he had done last night. And just like last night I felt complete as he soothed me, even though he'd been the one that punished me. For quite a while we just sat there, saying nothing to each other verbally but saying everything with just the touch of the hand or a well placed kiss. I was just toying with the idea of never moving when Dean's cell phone suddenly went off.

"Damn," he growled as he fished around in his jacket pocket for his phone. I didn't move as I watched him pull it out, and before he answered it I caught the name on the screen. Of course it was Sam calling, and my heart began to pound.

"Hey," Dean said into the phone as he rubbed my arm with his free hand. "You done already?" he asked, and if I'd been feeling brave I would have bitten him. "You weren't at it for very long," Dean continued, and I wondered if he'd spank me if I went ahead and bit him anyway. Probably. "Are you sure you took enough time with her?" he asked next. "Hey, watch it sweetheart!" he suddenly yelped when I took a risk and at least gave him a pinch. He reached down with his free hand and gave my ass a sharp slap, and I jumped and gave him a pouty look, and to my annoyance he gave me one of those irresistible grins of his.

"Sorry Sam," Dean told his brother as he patted my arm. "Just taking care of things. Are you sure you did the same?" I watched as he frowned at whatever Sam said back. "Has it already been two hours?" Dean asked, sounding shocked. He took a glance at his wristwatch and I watched as his eyes went wide with surprise. "How about that. Yeah, guess it has been. So you ready for us to come back?" He paused and listened. "Okay. We're on our way. We really didn't get too far to be honest. I didn't get the chance to take her anywhere like I'd planned. We—what? Oh, no we haven't talked about that," Dean said as he looked down at me. "Don't worry, we will. I know, Sammy. She won't. Okay, dude. Talk to you later."

With that he ended the call and returned the phone to his pocket. "What do we have to talk about?" I asked softly, nervously.

"Just about the fact that you can't go into Rivan's room when we get back," he told me as he leaned down and dropped a kiss on my lips.

"Oh, but Dean!" I protested. "I want to check on her and make sure she's okay!"

"Eden, the only thing that's wrong with her is that she has a seriously sore ass. She won't die from that," he told me firmly. "You don't need to go in there, and you're not going to. Understand?"

I made a face and looked down at a button on his shirt. "Yes sir," I mumbled as I reached out and started pulling on the button. I felt myself turn red from calling him "sir" but I knew I'd get in trouble if I didn't.

"Sorry, I didn't hear that," Dean said as he grabbed my hand, making me stop pulling at the button on his shirt. "You wanna try again?" he asked as he let my hand go and caught my chin between his thumb and forefinger again, making me look up at him.

I swallowed hard and felt my blush turn to a deeper shade of red. "Yes sir," I repeated, louder this time.

"Good," Dean told me as he leaned down and kissed me. "Much better. From now on that's how you better say it. I'm not gonnna remind you again, sweetheart. Every time you mumble it or forget to say it at all you'll get ten good smacks on that pretty little ass of yours." He paused and looked me directly in the eyes as my mouth fell open. "Do you understand me?" he asked, raising both eyebrows at me.

"Yes sir!" I said again, quickly and clearly.

"That's my girl," he told me as he kissed me again. "Come on, let's head back to the house," he added as he patted my back. Very reluctantly I crawled off his lap and then scooted back over to my seat, and I let out a little whimper as I did. Now my ass hurt more than it had before and I pouted as I buckled my seat belt. I stared out the window as Dean started the car and did a little U turn on the empty road, and soon we were on our way back.

"Do you think Sam spanked Rivan very hard?" I asked after a few minutes had passed in silence. I turned and looked at Dean and saw him glance at me before looking back at the road.

"Probably about as hard as I spanked you last night," he told me.

I made another face. "Pretty hard, then," I said as I slumped back against my seat. "I hope he was careful," I added. "Sam's real big and strong. He has a lot of muscles."

Dean snorted. "Oh, and I don't?"

I smirked. "You definitely do," I told him. "Trust me on that one," I added dryly. Dean laughed and reached out to pat my leg. "You don't think he was too rough with her, do you?" I asked next.

"Eden," Dean said with a sigh. "Sam is crazy about that little brat. He is completely in love with her and would never seriously hurt her. He would never take it to the point of abuse. Rivan got exactly what she deserved and that's it. So stop worrying, sweetheart. Sam wasn't too harsh with her. I promise."

That made me feel a little better, but not completely. The only way I'd feel completely better about the whole thing was if I could see Rivan and talked to her. But that wasn't going to happen any time real soon. My heart was still aching over that realization by the time we pulled up to the house and the ache only got worse when we finally got inside. All was quiet and I didn't see Sam anywhere, which was probably a good thing. If I had I may have cussed him out without thinking about it and then I would have been in even more trouble.

Without saying a word to Dean I started toward the stairs, and to my surprise he followed me. "What are you doing?" I asked him.

"Taking you to your room," he told me as he caught my hand in his and started leading the way.

"Dean, I'm not going to go in her room!" I whined as we climbed the stairs.

"Yep, I know sweetheart," he told me once we reached the top and turned to start down the hallway. "But I'm just makin' sure you stick to that promise," he added. I thought about sticking my tongue out at him but figured I better not. A few steps later we reached Rivan's room, and I couldn't help myself. I paused and tried to listen as I gazed longingly at the door.

"Eden," Dean said in a low, warning tone.

"Can't I just stick my head in real quick and check?" I pleaded softly with him. "Just for a quick second?"

"No Eden," Dean snapped at me. "If you ask me again I'm gonna give you a smack. Is that what you want?"

My eyes went huge and I took a step away from the door. "No sir!" I said, my tone a little frantic.

"Good," he said, his tone firm. His eyes had that stern look in them that I had seen last night, and I knew it was a look that I'd be stupid to ignore. "Now go to your room," Dean continued. "In five minutes I'm gonna come check on you, and you better be in bed when I do," he added, and it was obvious what would happen if he wasn't obeyed. "Is that clear?"

I sighed quietly and couldn't fight back a sniffle. "Yes sir," I said in a small voice. Though not too small. I definitely wanted him to know I said it.

"Good," Dean said. "Go on then."

I didn't say anything as I started down the hallway toward my room, and I could feel him watching me as I opened my bedroom door and quickly went inside. I closed the door quietly and immediately got ready for bed. I had my face washed, my teeth brushed, and my pjs on and was in bed, lying on my stomach, with only a minute to spare. Dean came in not long after that, and I saw that he was ready for bed as well. I remained still as I watched him close the door, and when he turned to me I could see that the sternness in his eyes was gone and I relaxed a little. He smiled softly at me as he crossed the room and that helped me to relax completely.

"Good girl," he praised me as he approached the bed. I knew he was praising me for going to bed like he had told me to, and again I felt better after hearing his praise. I said nothing as he stopped next to my little table by the bed, and I expected him to kiss me good-night and then maybe leave. But to my surprise he turned the lamp off by my bed and then came around on the other side and crawled in next to me. For a moment I was so shocked I didn't move, and then in the next instant I was lying next to him as I had last night, my arm around him and my face hidden against his chest.

He pulled me closer and dropped a kiss on my neck, which made me shiver, and then he kissed my cheek before pulling the covers up a bit higher over us. Again he rubbed my back as I clung to him, and soon I drifted off to sleep, cherishing that feeling of love and protection that he gave me as he held me in his strong arms.

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><p><strong><span>Rivan's POV:<span>**

I didn't sleep very well or for very long after Sam left the room. At one point I rolled over onto my back in my sleep, and the second my ass touched the mattress I was wide awake. I literally jump out of bed with a little howl and my hands immediately went to my ass and started to rub, but I found that it did nothing but cause me more pain instead of bringing relief as I'd hoped it would.

This frustrated me and as I stood there I wanted nothing more but to break down and cry again, but I fought against the urge. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, I leaned over and turned the lamp on beside my bed. The clock on the little table next to the lamp said it was eleven-thirty. For a few minutes I just stood there, too miserable to even move. Then I brought my hands up to my face and realized it was hot and felt uncomfortable, so I decided to wander into the bathroom and wipe it down with a wet wash rag.

I'd only taken a few steps when I suddenly heard a deep, familiar voice in the hallway. It was Dean and Eden, coming back from wherever they had gone while I was busy getting my ass spanked. I paused and listened, sucking down a little sob that had sprung up on me when I brought a hand back down to rub at my backside without thinking.

"Eden," I heard Dean say in what was clearly a warning tone. Apparently he had decided to take no chances and was seeing Eden to her room.

"Can't I just stick my head in real quick and check?" Eden pleaded softly with him. "Just for a quick second?"

"No Eden," Dean snapped quietly at her. "If you ask me again I'm gonna give you a smack. Is that what you want?"

"No sir!" Eden said instantly and a little louder this time, and I didn't blame her for her quick answer. But I was surprised at the whole "sir" thing. Must have been a new development, because she hadn't called him that this morning when he'd caught me in the room.

"Good. Now go to your room. In five minutes I'm gonna come check on you, and you better be in bed when I do," he added, and his tone was full of promise of what would happen if he didn't find her in bed when he came to check on her. "Is that clear?" he asked next.

I thought I heard Eden sniffle but wasn't sure. "Yes sir," she said in a small voice.

"Good," Dean said. "Go on then." Eden didn't respond to that and seconds later I heard her bedroom door open and then close. After that I heard Dean go into his room and then all was quiet.

Wishing more than anything that I could go see Eden, I made my way to the bathroom and closed the door. I grabbed a clean wash cloth out of the little cabinet by the sink and then turned the cold water on. I ran the cloth under it, shut the water off and then wrung the wash cloth out before taking it and slapping it over my entire face. It felt so good that I actually relaxed a little as I stood there and enjoyed the sweet coolness. I stood there like that for a few minutes and then lowered the rag from my face and looked into the mirror.

Ugh. I looked a mess. My eyes were still red and they were as puffy as they could be and my hair was sticking out in every direction. I reached up and smoothed it out, running my fingers through it and trying to flatten it. Once I had it looking okay I wiped my eyes with the wash cloth and held it there for another few minutes. Finally I took the wash cloth off of my eyes and looked into the mirror again and realized that I didn't feel better as I had hoped I would. Fresh tears filled my eyes as my ass started to throb again, and with a groan I tossed the wash cloth aside and turned and left the bathroom.

The only thing I was greeted with once back in my room was a bed that I did not want to get back into again. All that would do was bring me more pain, and completely beside myself with misery, I wandered over to the nearest window and pulled the shade up. Carefully I pressed my forehead against the window frame and looked out, but I didn't see what the night had to offer. My eyes were too clouded with tears and after standing there for a minute I broke down and started to sob quietly. I had never felt so alone in my whole life, and I found that at that moment all I really wanted was to be held. And I wanted Sam to do the holding. Geez. What was that about? He had just brought down the ten shades of hell on my ass and now I wanted him to hold me? _I have to be seriously sick in the mind_, I thought with a whimper.

But then I remembered what Eden had said about Dean. How she hadn't felt better until he came back in and held her. At that moment in her life nothing could have been more comforting than that. Apparently that was my problem now. But Sam had not come back in to hold me. Why not? In many ways Sam was gentler than Dean. I would have thought that the whole holding part would have come not long after the punishment. But here I was, still alone, and with every passing second my misery got worse and began to consume me.

I was so bad off as I stood there staring out the window that I didn't even hear my door open, nor did I hear anyone come in. So when Sam suddenly said my name from behind me I nearly jumped out of my skin. I let out a little shriek and spun around, my eyes wide and tears streaming down my face as I stared up at him.

"Hey, it's just me!" he said softly, bringing a finger to his lips. "Sssh, it's me. Take it easy." I didn't say anything in response, just stared at him. "What're you doing out of bed?" he asked next, still speaking softly as he gazed down at me, his eyes gentle and concerned.

I opened my mouth to respond but all that came out were words clogged by tears, and after a few seconds of that I gave up and shook my head at him before crossing my arms over my chest and looking way from him. My shoulders heaved as my crying intensified, and then suddenly I felt Sam's hand under my chin, gently guiding my face back to him so he could look at me. As soon as our eyes met his hand slid up to my cheek, and using the pad of his thumb he wiped some of my tears away as they fell.

"Ah baby," he murmured softly when I closed my eyes and let out a little miserable moan. He brought his other hand up and cupped my face between them and then gently kissed a few of my tears away before bringing his lips to mine. His kiss was tender and sweet and I was just about to throw myself into his arms when he suddenly pulled back carefully. "Come on," he said, catching my hand in his. "Let's get you back in bed." That was the last thing on earth that I wanted to hear and wanted to do, and with my heart breaking I let out a protesting sound, and then I did manage to get out the words "Don't" "Wanna" and "Bed".

"You don't want to go to bed? Why not?" Sam asked gently as he continued to guide me over to the bed.

"Not tired," I said, somehow managing to moan out the two words without any sobs breaking them up.

"Well I know that's not true," Sam said quietly as he stopped once we reached the bed. I stood there and watched as he straightened the covers for me and once he was done he stepped back and held his hand out toward me. "Come on, baby," he urged me gently. "Come lie down." I moaned again but I took his hand and approached the bed. Very carefully I crawled back in and then very quickly I rolled over onto my stomach again, burying my face into my pillow.

I felt Sam stroke my hair and then suddenly he turned the lamp off by my bed, and the thought of being left here alone in the dark again literally made me sick to my stomach. But I said nothing as I listened to Sam move through the room, and then the next thing I knew he was getting into bed next to me. I was so surprised that my tears stopped flowing a bit, and with my cheek on my pillow I watched as he pulled the covers over us both. Once he had that settled he turned on his side to face me, and for a few minutes the only sound in the room was me sniffling and letting a little gasp out every now and then. Then Sam reached out carefully and brushed the back of his fingers against my cheek, and then his hand went to my hair, and he stroked that for a while.

"Hey," he whispered when I whimpered a little louder than before. "It's okay, baby. Sssh. Everything's okay now. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere. I promise." I drew in a deep, shuddering breath, and then suddenly I could stand it no longer. Carefully I pushed myself up and rolled over on my side, trying so hard not to let the mattress press against my tender cheeks. It happened anyway and I moaned but finally got myself settled the way I wanted to be.

Then without a word I moved closer to Sam and then I threw my arm around him and held him tight, practically attaching myself to him. As I snuggled close to him he put his arm around me and pulled me even closer, and with my face pressed against his chest my tears started to flow again. As he held me tight there in that dark room Sam murmured softly to me as I cried, and that night he said some of the sweetest things he's ever said to me as he held me. It was just like Eden had said. I felt safe, protected, and loved, and I also felt confused as to why I felt this way to begin with. But after a while, when Sam told me how much he loved me and how he would always love me no matter what, I found that I truly did not care why I felt the way I did.

All I knew was that it was right for me, and I knew that it was all that I would ever want in this world.

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, that's it for now. I am praying that you all liked it well enough. If not I'm very sorry. If you have a moment please leave a review and share your thoughts. Thank you all so much for reading and for your continued support. I have no idea when I'll update again, but I do plan on continuing with the story. I already have some things written for future chapters, though it will have to be added to and fixed up. Anyway, I'm going to head to bed and hide under my covers and hope that this chapter goes over well. Night everyone!**


	12. Adjusting

**A/N: Hey everyone. I know I usually don't update during the week but I had the chapter ready and I don't know when I'll be able to get online again so I thought I'd just go ahead and post it now. I'm sorry it's been so long since I last updated. Things are not going real well in my life. My father is in the ICU and he is not doing good. So I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update my story after this. I'll do the best that I can. **

**Thank you to everyone that read and reviewed my last chapter. I was glad to see that most people liked it. This chapter is mainly about the girls adjusting to their new way of life. I didn't write a whole lot about their week of grounding because I am going to try to get the story back on track as far as the plot goes. I'm sure you're all wondering what's going to happen next with the whole vampire situation. This chapter doesn't deal with that yet but the next one will, and eventually you'll find out where the ring came from. Sound fun? I hope so! :-)**

**Okay well that's really all I can think to say. I probably wanted to say something else about this chapter but if I did I forgot what it was. I hope everyone likes it and as always please forgive any mistakes you may find.**

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><p>"I don't ever remember being this miserable when I got grounded as a kid," Eden moaned to me as she dried the dish she was holding. It was the last evening of our grounding and it was just the two of us in the kitchen cleaning up the mess from dinner. I was washing the dishes and Eden was drying, because she hated to wash.<p>

"That's because when our parents grounded us they started to feel bad about two days into the grounding and they let us off the hook," I reminded her as I rinsed off another dish and handed it to her. "This time we had to suffer through an entire week. No short term grounding anymore," I added with a sigh.

Eden made a face as she dried the dish off. "Yeah no kidding," she said with a pout as she set the dish aside. "And what's up with this crap about making us clean the kitchen up by ourselves after meals?" She added as she looked down at her fingernails. The week long, three times a day kitchen duty had not been kind on Eden's nails, which really annoyed her. She had, after all, just painted them and they had looked great. Now I had to admit that they looked like crap.

I shrugged as I washed off the last dish. I had been taking longer than I needed to because I was dreading going back to my room. "Well think about it this way," I told her as I gave her the dish to dry off. "We got to talk to each other while we cleaned everything up. Imagine if we had to come in here, eat, and then go straight back to our rooms. That would have made it worse."

"That's true," Eden admitted as she finished drying the dish. She placed it on top of the stack of the other sparkling dishes and then looked around. We were all done, and now it was time to head back to our rooms. Neither one of us moved.

"At least this is the last night," I reminded her. "Tomorrow we're free!" I added with a smile, trying to stay upbeat.

"I know, but in a way that makes it harder to go back to my room tonight," she said with a groan. Eden really, really hated to stay in one place for too long. It drove her nuts. During the week, every time she had come out of her room to eat she had pouted the whole time, and once she had even dared to get smart with Dean when he said something to her about her pouting. As soon as she had finished with her smart reply she had been promptly escorted out of the kitchen and to the living room, where Dean had given her five hard smacks on her butt.

I almost got into trouble that night too, because of course I had wanted to go in there and help Eden. But Sam had to only say my name once and give me that look to keep me in my seat. When Dean had brought Eden back into the kitchen tears were rolling down her cheeks and she had looked quite pitiful. She'd said nothing and had looked at no one for the remainder of the meal, and when it was time for us to clean up Sam had left to go do whatever he did for the evening, but Dean had stayed behind and watched us as we cleaned.

When we were done Dean had told Eden to stay for a moment, and I left the kitchen alone. I had moved slowly though, and I had caught a few of the things that Dean had said to Eden. I'd been afraid that he had made her stay put with the intention of punishing her further, but all he had wanted to do was offer her comfort, which she had gladly accepted. I had gone to my room that night feeling a bit better about the whole situation.

That's pretty much how the whole week had gone. Eden had tested Dean more than I had tested Sam. I often wondered where Eden got her nerve to be so daring. The spanking Sam had given me had been more than enough to keep me in line during my week of grounding. I did not want him to spank me again anytime soon. I knew Eden's spanking had been just as intense as mine, but still she tested Dean. And every time she did he'd pop her on the butt, and the blows had not been gentle.

Now I sighed deeply as I looked around the kitchen, trying to find a reason to stay a little longer. Indeed the idea of going back to my room seemed more terrible than it had in the past few days. Freedom was so close! I could literally taste it, and I wanted it _right now_. Not tomorrow. But there was nothing I could do about that, and it was irritating.

I didn't want to go back to the silence of my room because I knew the thoughts that had been haunting me all week would come back to visit me. During my time of bored isolation my mind had wandered freely. I had thought of all kinds of things. Some good, some bad. Most of it had been good though, because I had wanted to stay positive. But a very disturbing thought had broken through, and once it had it never left me alone. It was terrible. I knew soon I would have to talk to Sam about it, because it involved him. I just hadn't done it yet because it was not something I was eager to bring up. I hated the thought and was always running from it. But the day I would have to stop and face it was coming soon.

"Hey!" A loud voice suddenly barked out, and Eden and I jumped at the sound. Dean was standing in the kitchen door, his arms crossed over his chest as he gazed at us, his eyes stern. "What're you two still doing in here? You're done cleaning up," he added as he looked around at the clean kitchen. "As I recall, the rule is that you're supposed to go back to your rooms as soon as you're done," he continued as he locked his gaze onto Eden. "Right?" he asked her, raising one eyebrow.

Eden shifted nervously as she reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yes sir," she answered softly.

Dean stood there and stared at her for a moment before looking over at me. I snorted at him. "Hey, don't look at _me_ like that," I grumbled at him. "You're not getting a 'yes sir' from me."

"How about me?" Sam suddenly said as he appeared in the door way behind Dean. "Do I get a 'yes sir' from you?" Dean moved aside and Sam stepped further into the kitchen, his arms crossed over his chest too.

I groaned silently. "Yes sir," I said with a sigh. I kept my eyes on Sam's for a moment before lowering them to study the kitchen floor. For a few moments nothing but tense silenced filled the room, and then Dean cleared his throat and stepped aside.

"Eden," he said, and she looked at him. "Back to your room. Now," he added, pointing at the door. For a moment she didn't move and then I saw her sigh quietly.

"Yes sir," she said again as she started to move. As she walked by Dean I wished I could warn her to cover her butt. I was surprised that she hadn't already. She kept going, still leaving herself wide open, and sure enough when she walked by him he delivered a sharp slap to her rear. She jumped and whimpered, and the swat motivated her to nearly run out of the kitchen and through the living room. Dean followed her and I was left alone in the kitchen with Sam.

He stood there for a moment and studied me before sighing. "You too," he told me as he moved aside. "Get going," he added as I bit down on my lower lip. Not leaving anything to chance, I dropped my hands behind me, covering my own butt as well as I could. I started forward, moving as quickly as I could. I approached him and for a moment I thought I was in the clear, but suddenly he moved to stand in the doorway, blocking the only exit.

"Move your hands," he ordered me quietly.

My eyes went wide, and then I shook my head. "No," I said as a stupid flare of defiance sparked to life inside me. Apparently I had forgotten my earlier desire not to get spanked again any time real soon. I watched in nervous silence as Sam's jaw clenched, and then my eyes went wide when that muscle in his jaw started going about one hundred miles an hour. He didn't even have to add a threat to that before I suddenly found myself doing as I was told. The tense silence continued as I stood there, and I felt my lower lip tremble as I stared at him.

He let me stand there and squirm for a few more moments before he spoke again. "Turn around," he ordered next.

I moaned rather loudly but did it anyway. Tears filled my eyes and started to fall as I turned slowly, and Sam said nothing as I did. Once I had my back to him he moved over to my side, grabbed my arm, and gave me six hard smacks on my still sore butt. I let out several howls as he landed each blow, and once it was done Sam forced me to turn and face him again. With my arms crossed under my breast I stood there and cried as he watched me.

"That was for not going to your room as soon as you were done with the kitchen," he told me, still speaking quietly. "It was also for being rude to Dean," he continued as I cried. "And it was for not listening when I told you to move your hands." He fell silent again for a few moments. "I strongly advise you not to push me again that much," he warned me. "Do you understand me, Rivan?"

"Yes sir," I choked out as the tears rained down.

"Good girl," Sam said, and this time his tone wasn't as hard. Then to my surprise he reached out and pulled me into his arms. He held me close and for a moment I didn't move. Then finally I gave in and wrapped my arms around him and buried my face against his chest as I cried. He murmured soft words to me as he rubbed my back and in between that he dropped several kisses on my head as he held me. Finally after a few minutes I calmed down and he let me go and gently pushed me away from him so he could look down at me.

"You okay?" he asked softly as he wiped a few of my tears away with his thumb.

Well the blows had hurt like hell, because of course my butt was still pretty tender from my big spanking. But yeah, I guess I was okay now. As okay as I could get. I had to admit that Sam's hug helped a lot. "Yes sir," I whispered out my answer as I stared up at him with watery eyes.

"Good," he said, his tone still soft. He gently kissed my lips for a moment and then he gave me another comforting hug before letting me go and stepping back. "Time for bed," he told me, nodding toward the door.

I felt my shoulders slump but I nodded anyway. "Yes sir," I said again as I started forward. Sam said nothing as I left the kitchen, and he didn't follow me. I moved through the living room quickly and climbed the stairs. Of course Eden had already made it to her room and Dean was nowhere in sight. With a feeling of dread I approached my room and groaned out loud while I opened the door and went inside. I got ready for bed slowly and then crawled in just as slowly. I turned the light off, and instantly that thought that I'd been dreading attacked me.

It tormented me for most of the night, and finally around dawn it retreated, and only then was I able to drift off to sleep with tears still glistening on my cheeks.

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><p><strong>Three weeks later:<strong>

Heaving a deep, heavy sigh, I pushed myself into a sitting position on the couch. I was in the den with Sam and had been there most of the morning. We had talked for a while but for the most part Sam had stayed quiet as he fiddled on his laptop, looking up article after article, still trying to find a way to destroy my grandmother's ring and end the many problems we were having. He still wasn't having much luck.

Dean and Eden were off somewhere else in the house, enjoying each other's company. It had been three weeks since we'd be grounded. Everything had pretty much gone back to normal. Sam and Dean had gone back to being the gentle and loving boyfriends that we remembered, and both Eden and I had been spoiled with a lot of attention from our respective men. But just because that was so did not mean Sam and Dean weren't willing to lay down the law and dish out punishment when they needed to. Over the last three weeks Eden and I had tested them in small ways, and we found that they were quick to respond in the way they had promised us they would. Smart replies earned us several smacks on the butt, and those smacks were not love pats.

Any kind of deliberate disobedience got us into even more trouble. Because she was so short Eden had gotten into the habit of climbing onto the kitchen counter and kneeling on it while looking through the cabinets for whatever she needed at the moment. I had tried to talk her into standing on a chair to reach what she needed, which was something I had started doing. But for whatever reason she wouldn't do it. She preferred to climb on the counter. Well one afternoon while she was up there she had slipped and almost fell on the hard kitchen floor. Thank God Dean had walked in just in time, and moving as only he could move, he'd caught her before she could hit the ground.

Dean had kind of freaked out, which in that case I couldn't blame him, and told her never to do it again. If she needed something out of the cabinets and refused to at least stand on a chair to reach it, she was to come get him and he'd get what she needed. Well, as stubborn as Eden was it annoyed her that she couldn't get something out of the cabinets herself so of course she climbed back onto the counter anyway. Dean had walked into the kitchen the very next day just as she was climbing back down.

Needless to say he had been pissed. Big time. He had marched her directly upstairs and to her room and had spanked her hard enough to make her shriek, and she shrieked loud enough so that I could hear her all the way downstairs and in the office slash library set in the back of the house. Sam had made me come in there with him while Eden got spanked. When I had attempted to run out of the office to go save Eden, or at least smack the crap out of Dean, Sam had gone after me and once he caught me he had picked me up and carried me back into the office. I had gotten a spanking that day too because I bit him while he had been carrying me.

Adjusting to this new way of life was proving a bit hard for us, and I knew it would take a while to get used to this new Sam and Dean. We were used to the Sam and Dean that only yelled at us when we did something we weren't supposed to. Now we had to get used to the Sam and Dean that would yell at us _and_ spank us when we misbehaved.

But I have to say that even though we got our butts blistered more often now, we were always given the tenderest and most wonderful comfort once the punishment was over. Our men made sure that we knew without a doubt that we were loved and forgiven for whatever we had done. It was times like that when I thought this new way of life wasn't so bad after all. But in between these times of insane testing and dedicated attention I found that I was still plagued by something. That thought that had found me during my week of being grounded was always with me. Even when Sam held me and kissed me it tormented me still. Actually during these times it was worse than ever.

I had been fighting against it for three weeks now, and I knew I couldn't hold out much longer. It was killing me. I knew Sam could tell something was wrong, and many times he had asked if I was okay or if I needed to talk to him about anything. I always said no and though I could tell he wasn't convinced he didn't push me.

So when I sat up on the couch that afternoon to find him sitting across from me on the other couch and watching me, I knew I could no longer hold it back.

"Can we go for a walk?" I asked him softly. "Just you and me? Do you think it would be safe enough? I'd love to go walk along the beach. I've never been to a place where I had a private beach," I added, aware that I was beginning to ramble. I forced myself not to say anything else as I waited for Sam's answer.

He sat there and studied me for a moment before taking a deep breath. "I'll take you for a walk on one condition," he told me, and I waited to hear that condition. "That you talk to me while we're walking and tell me what's going on with you. And don't tell me nothing is going on because I know something's up, Rivan. You've been acting odd for weeks now," he told me as he leaned back slightly. "I need to know what's going on, baby. I know whatever it is, it's upsetting you. You need to talk to me about it."

I bit down on my lower lip and swallowed hard. "Okay," I told him, still speaking softly. "I'll tell you about what's going on," I promised.

Sam said nothing as he watched me, looking thoughtful. Then finally he sighed and sat up. "Okay," he said as he started to shut down his laptop. "Good. We'll take a walk then."

I brightened. "So you think it's safe enough to go?" I asked him as I watched him close his laptop.

"It should be," he replied as he placed the laptop on the coffee table and got up. "But I don't think we should stay out too long," he added as he moved toward me and offered me his hand.

"Okay," I said as I took his hand. He pulled me off the couch easily and smiled down at me. I smiled back, feeling rather good. Though I would soon have to talk about something I dreaded I still looked forward to going outside. I hadn't been out of the house in such a long time. A long, _long _time.

Suddenly feeling very excited about our walk, I grabbed Sam's hand and did my best to pull him out of the den as fast as I could. He laughed softly at my excitement but tugged on my hand, making me pause. "I have to let Dean know where we're going," he told me when I gave him an impatient look. I made a face at him but nodded, and he leaned down and kissed me before moving to the living room. Dean and Eden weren't in there so I figured they must be upstairs.

I guess Sam figured the same, and rather than going up there and running the risk of interrupting something important, he pulled his cell phone out and just called Dean. Oh yeah, side note here. Eden and I still haven't gotten our phones back yet. Aggravating. Anyway I stood there and tapped my foot impatiently as Sam talked to Dean and told him where we were going. Thankfully the conversation was short and a few minutes later Sam and I were outside and walking toward the beach.

"It's so pretty out here!" I said as we walked. I looked all around, trying to take everything in at once, and because I wasn't paying attention I stumbled over a root sticking out of the ground and would have fallen flat on my face if Sam hadn't caught me.

"It's not going to stay pretty if you fall and hurt yourself," Sam said as he caught my arm and held me steady.

"I'm okay," I said, brushing aside the incident. I had just spotted the water ahead of us and my heart leapt in excitement. I loved water. Be it lakes, beaches, ponds, or just little streams, I loved the water. "Come on!" I urged Sam. "You move too slow," I added as I pulled on his hand. "You can do better than that. What good are those long legs of yours if you don't use them? Come on, come on!" I groaned impatiently before he could answer. "I thought you were twenty-six, not eighty-six!"

Sam's eyes went wide and then he laughed. Oh Lord, I loved the sound of his laughter. But at the sound of it I realized I hadn't heard it in a long time. I couldn't even remember the last time I heard him laugh. Mesmerized, I paused and watched him as he smiled so wonderfully. I loved the way his entire face lit up when he was that happy. He didn't get much opportunity to be this relaxed. It made me sad that I couldn't see him shine like this more often.

Before I could mourn anymore about his stressful life Sam suddenly grabbed me, picked me up, and slung me over his shoulder. I shrieked and then laughed as he started toward the beach, his long legs getting him there quickly. "This fast enough for you?" he asked me, and I could tell he was still grinning.

"Eh, I guess it's okay," I said, rolling my eyes even though he couldn't see me. "Grandpa," I added in a wicked tone.

Without pausing in his stride Sam reached up and gave my butt a good slap. I shrieked at the little sting it left behind and whined good naturedly as Sam laughed at me. Moments later he stopped and set me down on my feet. "You're such a brat," he told me as he smiled down at me.

I shrugged. "I know. But I'm _your_ brat."

"Very true," he replied, and then he leaned down to kiss me. The kiss lasted for a few minutes, and then the sound of waves on the water behind me had me stopping and turning to look. "Hey!" Sam said, tugging on my hair gently. "Is the water more important than me?"

"Yep!" I said as I looked back at him. "At least right now it is. Don't worry though. It'll only have my attention for a little while," I added with a grin.

Sam sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever," he said with a smile. Propping his hands on his hips he looked around and spotted a good sized log a few feet behind him. "We can sit there and watch the water. And talk," he added in a more serious tone. "You promised me we would talk while we're out here."

I sighed. In my excitement I had forgotten about that for at least a few minutes. "Well, we have been talking," I said, keeping my tone light and cheerful.

Sam let out a slightly exasperated sigh before folding his arms over his chest. "Rivan," he said, his tone still serious, along with a slight hint of warning.

I made a face at him. "Okay, okay. We'll talk in a minute. I want to go look at the water a little closer than this. Please?" I added, looking up at him with big eyes.

Sam took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "Okay, fine. But I want to know what's going on before we head back to the house," he told me, and now his tone was firm.

I nodded quickly. "Yes sir," I told him. He stood there and studied me for a moment before leaning down and kissing me again. Smiling, he wandered over to the log and sat down.

Trying not to think about the talk we would soon have, I left Sam sitting on his log and wandered closer to the water. There was a bit of a breeze on this sunny day, enough to make small waves on the surface of the lake. I stood at the very edge of the shoreline and watched as the waves lapped softly onto the sand, and at one point a good size wave came up, nearly causing the water to wash over my shoes. Giggling like a little kid, I jumped back quickly, avoiding the wave. Then the water pulled back and I moved forward again and stared down into it. The lake was so clear that I could see little minnows swimming in the shallow water, being rocked gently by the currents.

I moved closer, my shoes now touching the wet sand. I was just entertaining the idea of kicking them off and wading in the water a bit when I heard Sam's voice. "Don't get so close Rivan," he called to me from his perch on the old, sun bleached log. "You're gonna fall in," he added when I turned to look at him.

"Would that be so bad?" I asked with a smile. "The water's not cold. And I know how to swim well enough that I wouldn't drown in the shallow water."

He frowned at me. "Rivan," he said, and now I could easily hear the warning in his voice.

I sighed. "I guess that means I can't even take my shoes off and wade in the water for a while?" I asked, giving him a pleading look.

He shook his head. "I don't want you out of reach."

"I won't go far," I promised.

"No, Rivan."

"Come on Sam, please? Just a tiny little ways out? I won't stay in long."

His frown deepened. "I said no, Rivan," he told me, and I could hear the irritation quite clearly in his deep voice. Since I had no longing to turn this little outing into an argument any sooner than I needed to, I sighed and backed down.

"Yes sir," I said, and looked back out at the water. If I hadn't thought the talk we were going to have soon would anger Sam I might have fought a little harder on the whole wading in the water thing. But I was pretty sure what I had to say was going to make Sam mad, or at least upset him to some degree, and like I said I didn't want to get into an argument just yet. So I tried to stay content just standing there and looking out at the water before me. I had only been doing that for a few minutes before Sam suddenly called out to me again.

"Rivan," he said, and I turned to look at him. "Come here," he told me, holding out his hand. I noticed that he didn't look happy, and I wondered if he was still mad about what just happened. I cringed. Had my arguing earned me a scolding? Ugh. My shoulders slumped as I started toward him, my arms crossed tightly over my chest. I approached him, instinctively stopping just beyond his reach. He looked up at me, exasperation written all over his face, and then leaned forward.

He hooked one finger through one of the belt loops on my shorts and used it to pull me forward. I yelped in surprise as I was jerked toward him faster than I thought possible, and my hands flew out to rest on his shoulders as he guided me to stand right between his long legs. I kept my hands on his shoulders as his own hands circled my waist. He sat there and stared up at me, and I felt myself blushing as I studied the golden highlights that the sun had brought out in his hair.

"Sit down," he suddenly told me, patting his right knee. I could feel the color in my cheeks blossom to a full bloom, and for a moment I didn't move. Usually when he wanted me to sit on his knee he was mad at me and planning to chew me out. Or worse. I looked at him with a frown, and he raised one eyebrow at me, waiting.

Resisting the sudden urge to stick my tongue out at him, I gritted my teeth and turned slightly. I sank down onto his knee with a loud, dramatic sigh, which at least seemed to amuse him for a moment. But that serious look crept back in his eyes, and I sighed quietly and turned my head to look back at the water. I knew he was waiting for me to say something, but I wasn't quite ready yet. So we sat there quietly for several minutes, and I watched the water and Sam watched me. Then all of a sudden I found I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to ask the one thing that had been plaguing my mind. I realized I'd been holding back for way too long now, and I found I couldn't hold back any more.

So I looked back at him and he gazed at me, an expectant look on his face while he watched me with calm eyes. "Sam," I began uncertainly, and then I figured to hell with it. "Are you…do you…" My voice trailed off, and I was annoyed. I had meant to spit it out, and here I was still stalling. I took a deep, determined breath and then looked him right in the eyes. "Do you hate me at all for any reason?" There, I had finally said it! Ha!

But the look that stole over Sam's face took the wind from my sails of triumph quite quickly. "Excuse me?" he replied, his tone laden with disbelief. "What did you just say to me?"

I swallowed hard. "I just…I just asked if…you hated me at all for any reason," I repeated, though my voice was nowhere near as confident as it had been the first time.

Now Sam was staring at me in confused outrage. "Do I _hate _you for any reason?" he echoed, as though the question would sound better if he said it too. "What the hell Rivan…why would I hate you?" I didn't answer and he stared at me. "Wait, is this about that spanking I gave you a few weeks ago?" he asked, struggling to get a grasp on what was going on. "Do you think I spanked you because I _hate_ you?"

My entire face was now bright red. I knew that without a doubt. No longer sure of what I had just opened myself up to, I attempted to look back out at the water, but no dice. Sam caught my chin quickly and forced me to look back at him.

"Answer me," he demanded, his tone firm. "Do you think I spanked you because I hate you?"

He wasn't going to let go until he got an answer, so I saw no reason to keep quiet. I swallowed again and took a deep breath. "No," I told him softly. "I don't think you…did that because you hate me." I gritted my teeth again and took another deep breath. This was going to cost me. "I think you did that because…because I did something really stupid and almost got myself killed. I think you…spanked me because I deserved it." Oh yeah. That had cost me a lot to admit, as I knew it would. Thoroughly embarrassed now, I reached up to pull Sam's hand away from my chin, but he refused to let go.

He was sitting there staring at me in wide eyed disbelief, and he continued to do so for several minutes. I squirmed slightly on his knee as I waited for him to get his voice back. My squirming seemed to help him find his voice, thankfully, and he now frowned at me. "Okay," he said slowly, staring at me intensely. "So why do you think I might hate you?"

"Well I just…I…I don't know. I've been thinking lately. About Castiel."

Sam narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Castiel? What? Why?"

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a moment and then opened them. "I've been thinking about what he said, back at the hotel the night you and Dean rescued us," I told him, and suddenly I was on the run to spill my guts about the secret fear I'd been harboring for weeks now. "Remember how he said that God had plans for us? For me and Eden? Remember he said that God had made Eden for Dean…and that he made me for you?" I asked softly.

He frowned at me. "Yeah, I remember," he said as he stared at me.

I swallowed hard. "Well I couldn't help but think that if that were true…if God was going to make a certain woman just for you…why wasn't it Jess?"

Sam's eyes went as big and round as saucers. "What?" he asked quietly. Too quietly.

Stupid me failed to notice. I was swimming in my ocean of misery and the dark waves were all that I could see and feel. I kept going, forgetting about the risk of making him mad. "If God had a woman planned for you, one that was meant to be with you forever, why wasn't it Jess? Your first true love? Why didn't he pick her, and keep her protected for you? Surely she was more suitable for you. I mean, I'm sure she never caused you as much trouble as I have. And I've seen her pictures. She was so pretty, and I could tell she was strong and brave. I'm not really all that strong or brave. And I'm a serious pain in the butt. Don't deny it."

In the back of my mind I was vaguely aware that Sam had slowly let the hand that had been holding my chin slip away until it was resting on his leg as he stared at me. I continued with my rant, completely oblivious to the storm I was stirring up in the man whose knee I was still sitting on.

"It should have been Jess," I told him quietly, staring down at my hands. "If God was going to pick a woman for you, it should have been her. Not me. That's what I've been thinking about lately," I added. "And then I figured…if I was thinking about it…surely you were too. I was sure the thought had already crossed your mind. You loved Jess. And you lost her in a terrible way. And then when Castiel said that God had made me for you…I'm sure you wondered why he hadn't made Jess for you, and why he hadn't made sure _she_ stayed safe and was around for whatever plans he has for you and me. So that's why I figured there might be a part of you that hates me. Because you got _me_ instead of Jess," I finished, and looked up at Sam.

I only caught a brief flare of shock, hurt, and anger in those hazel eyes before I suddenly felt myself being pitched forward. I let out a shrill scream as I went flying off Sam's right knee and then directly over his left knee. My stomach made rather rough contact with said knee, but I gave that no more thought as one hand clutched Sam's leg while I braced the other one on the hot, sandy earth beneath us. I stared at the glittering grains of sand in horror and opened my mouth, ready to let out an almighty screech, when Sam's hand came cracking down across my butt.

I let out that almighty screech then, but it had no effect on Sam at all. His hand rose and fell rapidly without any pause, and I started to wail as the heat sunk through my jean shorts all too quickly. The denim was not blocking the blows at all like I thought it would, and I cried out in dismay as my still tender rear started to throb a lot quicker than I cared for.

"Sam, nooooo!" I howled desperately. "Please stop!" But my pleading got me nowhere, and to my complete embarrassment he continued to give me a spanking right there on that little beach in the middle of Dedham, Maine. I prayed that no one suddenly came along, and prayed that Dean and Eden hadn't heard my shrieks. We had walked quite a ways from the house though, so I really didn't think they had. As far as anyone else coming along was concerned, we had no neighbors for miles.

The spanking was fast and furious, and I wasn't sure how many smacks I got, but just when I thought it would never end it actually stopped, and then I was pulled off his knee and plopped back down on his other knee, where I had started off. My head spinning, I reached out and placed a hand on Sam's shoulder, trying to steady myself. Tears were streaming down my cheeks and I trembled as I looked at Sam with wide, horrified eyes.

"Don't you do that," he snarled at me, and I cringed. "Don't you _dare_ look at me like that. Not after what you just said to me. This is what's been bothering you? This is what you've been thinking about all this time? How could you even think that, let alone say it? What the _hell _is wrong with you, Rivan?" he bellowed, and I jumped. "It's true that I loved Jess! I loved her a lot! And there's a part of me that still loves her, and always will. But you're in my life now! You're here and you're real and you're mine! After what Cas said, I never, not even for a second, wished that I had Jess instead of you! Jess is dead, and there's nothing I can do about that! But you're here, and I love _you_! And you can bet that I sure as hell don't hate you because you're here instead of Jess! Good God Rivan, how can you—I would never—_Damn it_! I've got half a mind to peel off those skin tight shorts of yours and wail on your butt until it blisters!"

I jerked as though he had touched me with a live wire. He looked dead serious. "NO!" I wailed, clutching his shirt with both hands. "No, please don't! I'm sorry, I didn't mean— "

"Yes you did or you wouldn't have said it!" he growled at me. "I don't know why you can't get it through your stubborn head! It's you I want, and no one else! Are you hearing me, Rivan? Are you understanding me? Don't you remember what I told you that night I spanked you? Don't you remember what I told you I was before you came along? I was a solid wall and that's pretty much it! I refused to let myself love anyone for years after I lost Jess. There were women I was interested in, but I never let myself love them, because I knew nothing could come of it! Because of what I do, because of the life I live, I thought I could never have anyone like that again!" He stopped for a moment and seemed to be trying to calm himself, but it didn't work, because when he continued with his rant he still sounded just as mad.

"But I was wrong to shut myself down like that. I had no idea how bad off I was until you came along and I actually fell in love with _you_. _You_ saved me from myself. _You_ pulled me out of the darkness that I had trapped all around me. Don't you get it? Jess was made for me all those years ago, just for that one time. It was wonderful and I loved her. And like I said, there's a part of me that will always love her. But you…_you_ were made for me forever. And damn it, I'm going to keep you forever! I am tired of letting this life ruin things for me! I'm tired of sacrificing everything! I deserve at least one good thing, and baby, you're it. And don't you _ever _doubt it again!"

With that he suddenly grabbed me and jerked me to him, and then his lips were crushing mine. For a moment I resisted, because I wasn't sure how I felt about being spanked and then passionately kissed. But all too soon the whole passionate part kicked in. He kissed me in a way that nearly took my breath away. My head spun, my heart soared, my body celebrated, and my soul was set on fire. I melted into him and kissed back, desperate to give back as much passion as I was getting. But despite my intenspasse love for him, there was no way I could match what Sam was doing. His own desperation, determination, and passion had consumed me completely, and he was wielding it like no other could even hope to.

The kiss lasted a few more fiery minutes, and just when I thought Sex on the beach was no longer going to be restricted to the name of a drink, Sam pulled back, breathing heavily. I nearly collapsed against him, resting my cheek on his chest, breathing just as hard. I clung to him as we recovered, and then he spoke.

"Look at me," he said, his tone soft but rough, both with left over passion and left over anger. Too bad it wasn't all just left over passion. I whimpered slightly and for a moment did not move. Sam ran one large hand down my back, and then griped my upper arms. "Look at me, Rivan." This time it was a demand, and with a sigh I leaned back and looked up at him. Tears were still falling down my cheeks, and he leaned down and gently kissed a few away.

"Don't ever talk like that again," he told me as his warm lips roamed over my face, removing my tears slowly and precisely. "I don't want to ever hear you saying anything like that again. Because if I ever hear you talk like that again…" His trailed off, and with a deep sigh he carefully pressed his forehead to mine. "Please," he whispered, and there was a tremor in his deep voice. "Don't say it again. Don't think it any more. I love _you_, and I want _you_. Please Rivan…please tell me you understand that. Please tell me that you _believe_ that." He was like a man starved for water, begging for a drop of the precious, life giving liquid. Only this form of life giving liquid was…love.

I shivered in his arms for a moment, and then my lips found his. "Of course I believe it," I murmured softly between kisses. "I know that you love me, Sam. I definitely know it now. I'm sorry. Sometimes I just get…scared. Scared that I'll lose you. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. But I just had to know. I had to know how you felt about what Castiel said. I had to know that you…were okay with me being the one. I know it was stupid!" I added hastily as Sam pulled back and gave me a hard look. "But you never said anything about what he said, and I couldn't help but wonder."

He studied me for a moment and then sighed quietly. "No more wondering," he told me. "Now you know for sure how I feel. So no more wondering. Do you understand me?" He caught my chin again and made me look at him, and I nodded.

"I understand," I promised him, and after he studied me for a few more moments we shared a calmer, sweeter kiss before I rested my head on his shoulder. We sat there for quite a while and looked out at the water, and for the first time in several weeks there were no worries praying on my mind.

* * *

><p>After that life was a lot better. I was happier than I had been in a long time, and it seemed the same way for Sam. Dean and Eden seemed just as happy. Of course we were all aware that our lives were not completely full of roses and sunshine, but we were all handling things pretty well. It had been a while since Eden and I had tested Sam and Dean's patience, but as I had learned long ago perfection was difficult to hold onto. A month had passed since I had gotten my first serious spanking from Sam. All the spankings that had occurred after that had been very small compared to that one. I had to admit that I was doing rather well considering how stubborn and bratty I could be.<p>

Then one day it kind of went down the pot. One late afternoon found me upstairs in my room, trying really hard not to swear as I dug through my bag for what was probably the tenth time. And for the tenth time I didn't find what I was looking for. This time I really did swear.

I couldn't find my little pink bag, the one that carried my more personal items, the most important being tampons. I didn't absolutely need them right that second, but I figured any day I would, and having them close at hand would make me feel better. But like I said, after much searching I still had not found that bag. At this point the only place I could imagine it would be is in the Impala. How I managed to get out of the car and in this house without it I don't know. I sat there on my bed for a few minutes, trying to think how I was going to do this. I would have to ask Sam to go get it for me. An embarrassing thought, but you gotta do what you gotta do. So after heaving a heavy sigh I got up and left my room.

As I stepped into the hall I saw that the door to Eden's room was still closed. She had gone upstairs a few hours ago, looking rather sleepy. We had not heard a peep from her since then, and Dean had checked on her several times. I'd heard him muttering to Sam about her still being asleep, and now I frowned. Apparently she was _still_ asleep. It would be dinner time soon, and I decided if she wasn't awake by the time I got back upstairs with my bag, I'd go check on her.

After standing there for a few more moments I sighed again and walked down the hall and hurried down the stairs, intent on finding Sam. But a little while later, after checking the living room, the kitchen, and the library slash office, I still hadn't found him. Standing in the entryway, I stomped my foot in frustration.

"Oh come on. Don't tell me you're standing there having some kind of tantrum!" Dean's voice startled me so much I jumped, and then I whirled around to glare at him. There he was, leaning against the door jamb that led into the living room, watching me with that annoying smile on his face.

I took a deep breath and clenched my fists. "I was looking for Sam," I told him, trying to sound civil.

"Why, so you can have an audience for that temper tantrum you're having?" Dean asked me dryly. "Not a very good idea to pull one of those on Sam, is it? You know he doesn't put up with your crap anymore. My guess is, if you stomp your foot at him just once, you'll find yourself marched upstairs to your room and bent over his knee before you could even start cussing."

I stared at him, wide eyed, as the color quickly rushed to my cheeks. Dean grinned. Oh, damn him! For a moment I seriously considering slapping that grin off his face, but I knew I'd pay a big price for that. There was no doubt about that. So, using all the restraint and patience that I had left at my disposal, I fought back that urge and looked at him.

"I just needed him to get something for me," I told Dean. "Where is he?"

"Last time I saw him, he went outside to take a walk."

I blinked. "A walk? Why would he do that? I thought it was too dangerous to go outside alone!" I added, not able to hide the annoyance in my voice.

Dean smirked. "It's dangerous for you. And Eden. Sam will be okay. What was it that you needed him to get for you?"

The color in my cheeks intensified. "Well, I think I left something in the car. It's a little pink bag, and I need it."

"What's in it?"

I gritted my teeth. This is exactly why I'd wanted to ask Sam to go get it. He knew what the thing was and he wouldn't have asked questions. "Just some stuff I need," I told him, narrowing my eyes at him.

"What kind of stuff?"

"Damn it Dean!" I finally exploded. "Just stuff, okay?"

"Hey, watch your mouth!" he warned me, the smug expression melting into a look of warning. "Just because Sam isn't here doesn't mean you can cuss at me."

"Oh don't be such a dick head," I snapped at him, and the look that flashed across his face was very amusing.

"Not funny," he told me darkly, straightening and starting toward me. The expression on his face was no longer amusing. "And I think you're lying, by the way," he added.

My eyes went wide. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I think you're lying. I don't think there's anything in that car you need. You're just trying to get me out of the house so you can sneak out the back way."

For several seconds I just stood there and stared at him. "Are you _insane_?" I finally demanded, rather loudly. "Do you really think I'm that stupid?"

Dean shrugged. "No, not stupid. Just stubborn and wild."

"Dean…that doesn't even make sense! Why would I sneak out of the house by myself? Sam would go ballistic on my butt if I did! I've already experienced that, thank you very much! I don't need another reminder!"

Dean stopped and stared at me for a moment, and then a smile spread across his face. "Go ballistic on your butt, huh?" he said, still grinning. "That's a new one. I like that. I'll have to remember that one."

"Geez, you can be so annoying!" I told him, running my fingers through my hair. "I don't know how Eden stands you sometimes!

Dean shrugged again. "It's just a part of my charm, sweetheart."

I snorted, but decided to let that comment pass by. "Look, are you going to go get my bag or not?"

"Not," he replied casually.

"Why not?" I nearly shrieked at him.

"Because I don't trust you!" he growled back at me. "You're planning something. And I gotta say, it's a pretty weak plan so far. You need a pink bag out of the car? Come on, surely you can do better than that."

"It's true, Dean! I really do need it!" I insisted, feeling my temper start to spike dangerously.

"Why?" he snapped. "What's in it that you suddenly need so badly?"

Okay, I had had enough. Screw being embarrassed. "TAMPONS!" I shouted at him. "TAMPONS, TAMPONS, _**TAMPONS**_!"

A sharp, ringing silence filled the entry hall for many, many seconds. The angry look had slipped off Dean's face to be replaced by a look of horror. And suddenly I was the one who was smiling. He found this more uncomfortable than I did! Ha! It was wonderful to see Dean suddenly squirming and not meeting my eyes.

"Okay!" he said, his voice a bit higher than usual. "I'll go get your bag." And with that he pulled out his keys and practically ran out of the house, leaving me to stand there laughing my head off. Minutes later he returned, still looking horrified, holding my pink bag between his thumb and forefinger as though he were holding something awful. The sight sent me into another fit of hysterics, because here was the almighty hunter of all things supernatural and disgusting, which never seemed to bother him, yet he couldn't carry a pink bag with tampons in it without looking freaked out. It was just too good, and I kept laughing. Dean glared at me as he came in and closed the door and then he shoved the bag at me.

"That is _not_ funny!" he snapped. "It's not…stop laughing!" he demanded. But I couldn't help it. "You know, I don't think you'll find it very funny when I tell Sam what you did," he added, and I have to admit, that stopped the laughter right then and there.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him, feeling my heart pick up speed. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Oh no? Who was it that called me a dick head?"

I flinched. "Okay, I shouldn't have done that," I admitted. "I'm sorry, okay? Please don't tell Sam," I pleaded, annoyed that I had to plead with him at all.

"Nah, I think he needs to know," Dean told me casually. "Wasn't that one of his rules? No more calling Dean a dick head? I'm sure it was," he added, pretending to think.

I was willing to bet even pretending to think caused him pain. I kept that thought to myself though, and stood there looking at him with wide eyes. "Dean…please! I really am sorry, but you just got me so frustrated! You can hardly blame me!"

"But I do blame you," he said, grinning at me. "I'm telling on you, sweetheart. Deal with it."

"That's not fair!" I wailed loudly as tears sprung into my eyes. "Sam will get mad at me!"

"No joke?" Dean's eyes went wide with fake astonishment. "How about that. Hmmm. Guess you should have thought about that before you opened your smart mouth, huh?"

Aggravated beyond belief, I let out a scream of rage and desperation. "You're such an asshole, Dean Winchester!" I shrieked, unable to help myself by this point. "If you tell Sam what I said, he's going to spank me!"

"Good," Dean replied, his tone flat. "You deserve it. And guess what? He'll spank you for calling me an asshole too. Have a great afternoon," he added cheerfully, and with that he turned and walked off, leaving me standing in the entry hall as tears rolled down my cheeks.

Furious, I threw my pink bag across the room and watched as it smacked into the wall and then fell on the floor with a dull thud. As soon as it did a few tampons spilled out of the bag and rolled across the floor, one making it all the way to the front door. I made a face. Apparently the stupid bag had been open just wide enough to spill its hidden objects. Swearing, I bent and snatched up the bag and began stuffing the contents back inside. Every once in a while I paused to swipe at my streaming eyes and sniffle pitifully. Damn that Dean! Because of him I was going to get another spanking. _No, you're going to get a spanking because of what __**you**__ said_, that irritating voice whispered in my mind.

"Oh shut up," I snapped at it as I stomped over to the door to get the tampon that had rolled over there. I snatched it up viciously, and as I did I glanced out of one of the windows beside the door. Something caught my eye, and I blinked and took a step closer.

"Ah hell," I muttered when I saw what it was. A tampon had slipped out of the bag as Dean had carried it in, and it was now resting on the ground, just a few feet away from the door step. For a moment I just stood there and stared at the little cylinder wrapped in pink plastic. If I left it there Sam would see it when he came back and pick it up. That was just too embarrassing to think about. I could call Dean back and have him get it, but damn if I was going to endure him again. Swearing again, I dropped the bag on the little table by the door and, after another moment's hesitation, very slowly and very carefully opened the door. I paused for a moment to see if Dean had heard it, and when I didn't hear him come running I turned back and looked out at the tampon lying on the ground.

_You shouldn't be doing this, _that little voice whispered again. I knew that of course, but still. I just could not stand the thought of Sam coming home and finding one of my tampons there on the ground. So after taking a deep breath and thinking it through one last time, I stepped forward, right into the limited space between the indoor salt line and the outdoor salt line. Right in the doorway. I stood there for another few moments and thought. Studying the tampon from where I was standing, I figured I should be able to reach the stupid little thing. And technically I wouldn't be going outside, I assured myself. I knew that was a load of crap, but I knelt down carefully anyway and stretched out my left hand toward the tampon. I quickly found that I could not reach it. Not in the position I was in.

Muttering, I shifted around until one knee was on the ground and I leaned over again, closer this time. With my right hand clinging to the door jamb, I stretched out as far as I could with my left, trying to reach my target. I still couldn't quite get there. Gritting my teeth, I leaned over even farther. My fingertips brushed the plastic wrap, and I tried to close them around the thing. Still not quite close enough. Annoyed, I made a little lunge toward it. That was my undoing. My right foot suddenly slipped out from under me. It shot back behind me, hit the line of indoor salt, and I found myself falling out the door. Wishing more than anything that I had worn jeans today instead of shorts, I winced as my bare legs slammed into the concrete door step and skidded across the outdoor salt line. I let out a little wail as I felt the large chunks of salt embed themselves in my skin.

Whimpering, I finally hit the ground. My chin bumped the hard concrete a bit, and I could feel blood suddenly run down my chin to my neck. Horrified, I stayed where I was for a few moments. Oh yeah, this was just perfect. There I was, lying in the door way with my right leg sprawled out behind me and my left leg tucked under me in a painful way. I could feel more blood oozing from the cuts on my legs, and my chin was throbbing.

Then something finally dawned on me. I had broken both of the salt lines. Though no demons could posses me and Eden, or Sam and Dean, we still didn't want any to get in the house. Gasping, I pushed myself up, grabbed the dumb tampon that had caused so much trouble, and staggered back into the house. Right next to the door was a bag of salt, and I grabbed it and began fixing the lines again, closing them. Finally it was done, though I scattered an awful lot of extra salt both outside and inside. Not caring, I pulled the door closed and stumbled back away from it. I stood there for a moment, listening, fearing Dean had heard all the commotion. But there was no sound of footsteps, and I relaxed a little. Then I looked down at my legs.

They were all scratched up with blood running down them. Moaning, I lifted my head and caught my reflection in the mirror above the entry hall table. My chin was bleeding too and swelling right before my eyes. I stood there and stared at myself and watched as my lower lip began to tremble. This was just great. Just wonderful! First I had gone and cussed at Dean and called him a dick head _and_ an asshole. He was going to tell on me about that. And now I had gone and opened the door, went outside, which is the biggest no-no possible, and hurt myself in the process of breaking Sam's most serious rule.

My lower lip began to tremble harder as Sam's warning came back to me. _From now on if you go near the front or back door, if you even open either one, there will be hell to pay. And if I ever catch you outside by yourself again, or with Eden again, for any reason other than the house is on fire or I told you to run, it will earn you an automatic spanking with my belt. No questions asked, no explanations. Just the belt._

I closed my eyes and shuddered. I was going to get another spanking with the belt. The thought alone was enough to make me start sobbing, but I held back my tears as something occurred to me, and my eyes flew open. Maybe Sam didn't have to find out. No one had seen what I'd done. I would probably still get in trouble for calling Dean those names, but at least that spanking would only be with Sam's hand. That was more than enough, but the belt would be worse. If I could avoid that, I could stand the other spanking. I flinched when I remembered how strong Sam's hand was, and how hard he could hit. Okay, so _maybe_ I could stand that spanking.

But how would I explain the scrap on my chin? I frowned hard as I thought but nothing came to me. All I was doing was wasting time just standing there. I'd think of something later. Right now I needed to get myself moving. Trembling, I picked up my pink bag and moved as quickly as I could toward the stairs. All I had to do was make it to my room, get cleaned up, change into some pants, think of a good story to explain my chin, and everything would be okay.

I had only made it half way up the stairs when I heard the front door suddenly bang open. I froze.

"DEAN!" Sam roared. "What the hell happened?"

"Sam?" I heard Dean call back from the living room, and I heard him running to the entry hall. "What're you yellin' about? What's wrong?"

"Dean, there's blood on the door step!" Sam told him. Oh damn. I had left blood on the door step? Crap. In my panic I hadn't even thought about that. "And it looks like someone broke both salt lines and then filled them back in!" I heard Sam continue. "They were pretty messy about it too," he added. "It almost looks like someone fell out the door." Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes. Why did Sam have to be so damn good at his job? So good at putting things together?

"What?" Dean said sharply. "You're kidding me."

"I'm not Dean, look!" There was a moment of silence during which I assumed Dean was looking at the evidence.

"Well I'll be damned," I heard Dean say.

"Apparently you didn't do that," Sam said.

"What? Of course I didn't do that!" Dean replied, sounding indignant. "I don't lay salt lines down like that. You should know that. This is a mess."

"Well if you didn't do it…" Sam's voice faded off. "Was it one of the girls?" he asked next, and his tone was intense.

"Well, no, not that I know of," Dean told him, but he didn't sound sure. "Eden's in her room asleep. She's been there since before you left."

"Where's Rivan?"

"She was down here, but I guess she's not anymore. Hey, where are you going?"

"To check on Rivan." Sam told him. Stifling a gasp, I got my butt moving and made it up the rest of the steps in record time. I forced myself to move faster, despite the pain in my legs, and I made it to my room and closed the door quietly. Dropping the pink bag on my bed, I hobbled into the bathroom, grabbed a wash cloth, ran it under some cold water, and hobbled back out. I moved over to the rocking chair, sank down onto it, and slapped the cold cloth over the worst of my wounds, which were on my right leg. I'd only been sitting there for a few seconds when I realized I should have locked myself in the bathroom. But it was too late to correct the problem.

My bedroom door was suddenly shoved open and Sam came charging in. He froze when he saw me sitting on the rocking chair, my legs bloody and dripping. I froze too, watching him with wide, horrified eyes. He blinked, took in my injuries, and took a quick step toward me.

"Rivan, are you okay?" he asked me sharply as he studied the swelling lump on my chin.

I swallowed hard, unable to speak for a moment. I felt my lower lip begin to tremble again. "Yes sir," I finally answered in a whisper. Behind Sam, Dean suddenly flew into the room and stopped short, staring at me.

Sam ignored him. "Did you go outside?" he asked me quietly.

Suddenly feeling exhausted, I slumped back against the rocking chair. I opened my mouth to answer, and then all of a sudden I burst into loud, horrible sobs.

I saw Sam sigh. "Okay. I'm going to take that as a yes," he said, moving across the room. He got the chair that was sitting at the desk and pulled it over and placed it in front of me. Without looking at me he went into the bathroom and was in there for several minutes, rummaging around. While he was in there Dean, who was still standing in the middle of the room, continued to stare at me.

Finally Sam came back out, his hands full of first aid stuff and more wash cloths, some damp and some dry. He placed most everything on the floor by his chair, hung the damp wash cloths over the arms of the rocking chair I was sitting in, and then went back into the bathroom. I heard him turn the water on, and I could tell he was washing his hands. I caught a glimpse of him through the door, drying his hands, and then he came back out.

Without looking at his brother he sat down in the chair in front of me. "Let me see," he told me, reaching out to take the wet wash cloth I had slapped over my leg. Still crying, I let him take it, and for a moment he studied my injuries.

"What the hell did you go outside for?" Dean suddenly demanded, and I started to cry even harder.

"Dean," Sam said, sounding slightly harassed. "Don't worry about it right now. I've got this, okay?" Before Dean could reply I heard a door open down the hall, and seconds later Eden was in the room.

"What's going on?" she asked as she came in to stand beside Dean. Her eyes fell on me and my torn up legs, and she gasped. "Oh my God! Rivvie! What happened?"

"I fell," I moaned pitifully between my sobs. "I fell outside!"

"You fell? Oh Rivvie I…wait, you fell…_outside_?" she asked, her eyes going huge.

I squeezed my eyes shut and whimpered loudly. "Yes!" I wailed as I covered my eyes with my hand.

"You…you went outside?" she asked in a tiny voice, looking from me to Sam, who hadn't bothered to turn around. Oh yeah, she knew what this meant for me.

I let out a little wail as I let my hand fall from my eyes. "I didn't mean to!" I howled, completely beside myself.

"What do you mean you didn't _mean_ to?" Dean snapped at me. "How could you not _mean_ to go outside? Sounds like a bunch of crap to me."

Suddenly Sam whirled around in his chair to look at his brother. "Dean! Enough! You're not helping matters any by yelling at her!"

"Well what the hell am I supposed to do, Sam?" he demanded. "Yeah maybe I shouldn't be yelling at her. Because that's _your_ job! You're the one that should be chewing her out right now! Not me! She _went outside_, Sam!"

"I know," Sam said as he turned back to me. "I told you, I've got this. Get Eden out of here, will you?"

"You need me to take her out of the house completely?" Dean asked, ignoring Eden's loud protests at being removed.

For a moment Sam said nothing. I knew what Dean was asking. If Sam was going to punish me for going outside, Dean needed to know so he could toss Eden in the Impala and give us some time alone, just like the last time I got spanked. I whimpered again as I looked away, waiting.

"No," Sam finally said, and I looked back at him in shock. "Not right now. Just…just, I don't know. Take her on the other side of the house or something. Or for a walk. If I need you two to leave later, I'll let you know," he added, pulling his cell phone out of his shirt pocket and holding it up for Dean to see.

For a moment Dean said nothing, and then suddenly he grabbed Eden's arm. "Fine," he snarled. "But if I were you Sam, I'd follow through with the promise you made her. If you let her get away with this, she'll never listen to you. You know that." Still ignoring Eden's loud protests, he turned and pulled her toward the door. "Oh by the way," he tossed over his shoulder as he left. "She called me a dick head and an asshole."

"That's because you _are_ a dick head and an asshole!" Eden suddenly shrieked, which of course was a mistake. A second later Dean had her picked up and thrown over his shoulder. Eden howled and began beating on his back with her small fists, but Dean didn't pay her any attention as he stomped out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Outside the door though, I distinctly heard a loud popping noise, and Eden started to cry. I heard Dean chewing her out as he carried her down the hall, and seconds later the sound of his voice and Eden's cries had vanished.

Now left completely alone with Sam, I looked at him and he looked up at me. As soon as his eyes met mine I started to cry again, for I could see the anger he was holding back.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" I wailed at him. "I didn't mean to! I wasn't trying to sneak outside, I swear Sam, I swear!"

"Alright," he told me, his voice calm. "Okay. Calm down. You're getting yourself worked up. You're gonna make yourself sick if you don't stop carrying on like that." He stood up then, and much to my surprise he leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. "Calm down now," he murmured softly to me. "Just calm down." He gave me another kiss, this time a quick one on the lips, and then he went into the bathroom again. From where I was sitting I could see him get one of the glasses that were in the bathroom. Yeah, we've got glasses in the bathroom. Kind of like a hotel.

Anyway, I watched as he filled the glass up with water and set it aside. He got another wash cloth and ran it under the cold water, wrung it out, and turned the water off. With the glass in one hand and the cloth in the other, he came back out and sat down in front of me again. I was still crying, but not quite as hard.

"Here," he said, handing me the glass of water. "Drink this and try to calm down." With a shaking hand I took the glass from him and slowly took a drink. Due to my crying and the fact that I had inhaled a bit of dirt when I had fallen outside I found my mouth was dry, and the cold water felt good as it went down. It soothed my throat, which felt a little sore, and I took another drink, trying hard to calm down. It was easier said than done. I knew Sam was going to spank me with his belt, and it's kind of hard to calm down when you know something like that is going to happen to you. Especially when you already knew how badly the belt hurt.

When half the water in the glass was gone and I showed no more signs of wanting any, Sam took the glass from me and set it on the desk beside me. Then he took the wet wash cloth he was still holding and very carefully and very gently he began to wipe my face off. Still not completely calm, I whimpered every now and then and sniffled. A few left over tears made their way down my cheeks, and Sam wiped them away with the wash cloth.

"Sssh," he soothed as he wiped some of the dirt from my face, and then focused on getting the blood off my neck. "Sssh. You're okay. Everything's going to be all right. Stop crying, baby."

Swallowing hard, I closed my eyes for a moment, enjoying the feel of the cool cloth and the gentleness of his voice. I opened my eyes again and looked at him. "Are you…are you going to…s-s-spank me?" I stammered out my question, which brought forth new tears.

"Don't worry about that right now," Sam told me as he gently tilted my face a little to the right so he could see my bruised chin better. "You did a pretty good job on yourself, didn't you?" he added as he sighed and looked down at my legs. Placing the cloth he had been using on my face over the arm of the rocking chair, he took the other one I'd had on my leg and very carefully began to clean the blood off.

I winced a little but did my best to hold still. "I didn't mean to do it," I said again, fighting back more tears. "Please don't spank me, Sam. Please, _please_ don't. Don't use your belt. Please!"

"Rivan, that's enough," he told me, his tone firm now. "I'm not going to promise you anything right now. I want you to calm down now and hold still. I'm going to put some medicine on your cuts and while I do that you can tell me what happened." Encouraged by the fact that he was allowing me to explain myself, I held still and finally calmed down enough to speak normally. Or somewhat normally. My voice was soft as I told him everything, watching as he cleaned the blood from my legs, and then wincing and flinching as he began to apply the medicine.

"No, don't pull away," he said at one point when he put some medicine on a particularly nasty cut. He reached up and patted my arm gently, and then went back to doctoring my wounds. Clutching the arms of the rocking chair, I continued on, explaining how I had fallen outside. I finished my story before Sam finished with my legs, and I watched quietly as he put the last few band-aids on my many cuts.

Then without a word he reached up and began to tend to the scrape on my chin. This stung like crazy, and before I could stop myself my hand flew up and grabbed his wrist in protest. "It hurts," I told him when he looked at me with both eyebrows up.

"I know," he said. "But you need to let me do this." Sighing, I let him go and tried to be cooperative as he finished. He insisted upon putting a little band-aid on my chin when he was done and I wasn't pleased, but for obvious reasons I didn't argue. I watched him nervously as he began to throw the trash away in the little waste basket by the desk, and then he came back and sat down in his chair again. Sighing, he leaned back in the chair, but only for a moment. With a frown on his face he leaned toward me again, resting his elbows on his knees while he placed his chin on his clasped hands.

"Okay," he began, eyeing me. "Let me get this straight. You…decided to risk your life by going outside to pick up a tampon, just because you couldn't stand the thought of me coming home and seeing it out there?" His tone was a mixture of sever exasperation and anger, and I cringed.

"Well I just…I just thought…I didn't actually go outside, you know. Not all the way," I finally said, my voice growing a little stronger.

"Rivan," he said in a terrible _give-me-a-break_ tone. "You know better. And you know I know better. According to you, you were standing in the doorway, leaning out the door. You weren't even supposed to open the door to begin with. But you did, and you were leaning out. There was more than enough opportunity for someone or something to grab you." He stared at me for a moment. "Please tell me you realize this."

I looked down at my hands, which were twisting away at the edge of my shirt. "Yes sir, I realize that," I whispered.

"And please tell me that you realize that I would rather you were embarrassed over a tampon being out in the yard than have you dragged off by God knows what."

I continued to stare at my hands, suddenly blinking furiously. "Yes sir," I said in an even tinier voice. "I know that, but—"

"But what, Rivan?" Sam cut me off. "What could you possibly have to add that would make what you did okay?"

I started to blink even faster, and I began to sniffle. "I just…I didn't mean to fall…"

"Well I should hope not," Sam said, now sounding not only exasperated and angry, but tired as well.

My lower lip started to tremble again. Damn. As I continued to stare at my hands, a tear suddenly fell from my eye and splashed onto my hand. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm so sorry, Sam."

"I know you are," he said, and I looked up to see him run a hand over his eyes. I watched, and I didn't look away when he dropped his hand and looked at me. "Is it true what Dean said?" he asked next. I blinked in confusion. "Did you call him a dick head and an asshole?" Sam clarified, his eyebrows shooting up again.

My eyes went wide and I felt a blush spread across my face. I had forgotten that Dean had told on me about that. "I…well I…I…yes sir. I did," I finally said, looking down again.

"Why?" Sam asked. "That was one of my rules. No more calling him a dick head. You got into a bad habit of doing it. I never said anything about not calling him an asshole, but I thought I made it pretty clear that you weren't allowed to call him names like that anymore. Be it asshole, dick head or whatever else might fly out of your mouth."

"You call him stuff like that," I said in my defense.

"I'm his brother, Rivan. Brothers do that sort of thing. He calls me a bitch. I call him a jerk, among other things," he added. "You don't have any right or reason to call him those things. Does _he_ call _you_ names?"

I was quiet for a moment. "No sir," I finally said, reluctantly. "Wait, no! He's called me a brat before," I said quickly.

"Rivan!" Sam said, almost groaning. "You know that's not the same thing." I didn't know what to say because I knew he was right, so I kept my mouth shut. We were both quiet for a few moments, and then Sam spoke. "Okay. You're going to apologize for calling him those things, and you're going to promise him that you'll never do it again. Do you understand me?"

I jerked my head up sharply, causing a pain to flare in my lower face due to the scrap I had on my chin. "What?" I half shrieked. "No! No way I'm going to tell him I'm sorry! All he'll do is gloat and lord it over me the whole time I'm—" I suddenly stopped myself in the middle of my own rant and cringed at the angry look Sam was now giving me.

He let the terrible silence sink in for a moment, and then he spoke in a quiet, scary voice. "I strongly suggest that you back off with the attitude," he told me as he stared at me. "You are in a lot of trouble already, and right now all you're doing is digging a deeper hole for yourself. Am I making myself clear, Rivan?" he asked, raising one eyebrow at me.

I bit down on my lower lip and then swallowed hard. "Yes sir," I answered softly.

"Good. Like I said, you are going to apologize to Dean and promise that you won't call him names again. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," I said quickly, sniffling.

"Good!" Sam said, straightening and slapping his legs with his hands. "Great." He sat there for another moment and then suddenly he got up and picked up the chair he had been sitting on. I watched as he returned it to the desk, and once he had he came back to stand in front of me. He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and stared down at me, his face dark and thoughtful. Then he spoke.

"Get up," he told me.

I looked up at him again, horrified. "No," I moaned. "No Sam, please, oh please don't spank me!"

"Get up," he repeated, and this time he held his hand out to me. Unable to control myself, I began to sob again, but I took his hand. He pulled me out of the rocking chair, gently, and away from it. Still holding my hand, he sat down in the rocking chair himself, and then pulled me toward him. Miserable, I didn't fight him but I started to cry harder. But instead of pulling me down across his lap for a spanking, he pulled me down and guided me to sit on his lap. Surprised, shocked, I sat very still as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close.

"Relax," he told me quietly as my entire body shook. "Relax. Calm down. I'm just going to hold you for a while. Sssh," he added as he encouraged me to lay my head on his chest. Once I was settled comfortably he began to rub my back and then slowly he began to move the rocking chair back and forth. All too soon the soothing motion began to make me feel drowsy, and I cuddled up closer to him, eager to feel his warmth all around me, eager to enjoy this wonderful moment of tender soothing while it lasted. I had a feeling that my troubles weren't over yet, but I was at least going to enjoy the comfort that Sam was giving me right now.

We stayed that way for quite a while, and that was more than okay with me. But all good things must come to an end, and Sam stirred a little and spoke. "You awake?" he asked me softly.

"Hmm mmm," I murmured as I stretched a little and sat up. The slight movement aggravated the cuts on my legs and I flinched, reaching down to rub them.

Sam caught my hand quickly and brought it to his lips. "No touching," he told me, and brushed his lips across my knuckles. I said nothing, and he sat there for a few minutes and watched me. "How are you feeling now, baby?" he suddenly asked me, his voice full of concern as he frowned at me.

I shrugged. "Okay I guess. Kind of tired."

"You don't feel bad?"

I shook my head. "No sir."

"Do you hurt anywhere other than your legs and chin?"

"No sir," I told him softly as I watched him.

"Hmmm," he muttered. "You're pale." Suddenly he moved, placing one arm under my knees while his other came to rest around my shoulders. He stood with me in his arms, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, a little surprised by my position. "I want you to rest for a while," he told me as he carried me to my bed. I really didn't want to but I wasn't going to tell him that. So I stayed quiet as he placed me gently on my bed. Once he had he turned and went back into the bathroom. I heard him open the medicine cabinet and then I heard him pull a bottle of pills out. Seconds later he came back out with something clutched in his hand. He walked over to the desk where he had set my glass of water earlier, got that, and then approached the bed and handed me the glass. He held his other hand, still clenched in a fist, out to me and waited.

"Aspirin," he told me when I made a face and looked at him. "You're going to need it. You'll be sore after that fall." Without a word I opened my hand and he dropped the two small pills into my palm. Quickly I popped them into my mouth and used what was left of the water to wash the pills down. I hated taking pills. Don't ask me why. It just bugs me.

When I was finally done Sam took the empty glass from me and placed it on the table by the bed. "Lay down," he told me gently, and with a soft sigh I did as I was told. There was a throw on the back of the couch and I watched as he got that and brought it over to me. He covered me with it in a sweet, tender way before leaning down and dropping a kiss on my lips. "Dinner will be in an hour," he told me as he brushed a strand of hair off of my forehead. "I want you to rest until then."

I tried real hard not to make a face at him. "Yes sir," I said with a sigh. "But I really do feel okay," I added.

"Good. But you don't need to push it right now with too much activity. Got it?"

I let out another sigh, this one deeper than the first. "Yes sir," I answered.

"Good. You're going to apologize to Dean at dinner, by the way."

Ugh. "Yes sir," I muttered.

He almost smiled at me. "Okay. If you need anything just come get me. I'll be in the kitchen." Instead of my usual "Yes sir" I merely nodded at him, because suddenly I began to feel very sleepy. I was barely aware of Sam giving me another kiss before he left the room, and before my bedroom door closed completely I was out like a light.

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><p><strong>AN: Well that's it for now. Seems Sam has a bit of a problem. He hesitates to spank Rivan because of her injuries and the fact that she doesn't feel well. Should he go ahead and spank her anyway? I'm curious to know what you all think, so if you have a moment let me know what you think in a review. Hope everyone liked it well enough and I'll do my best to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. Thanks for reading!**


	13. An Extended Stay

**A/N: Hello again everyone. Let me first start out by saying a very sincere thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of those who showed concern for the condition of my father, and thank you so much for your prayers. Praying is the best thing to do for anyone, and in this situation it helped a lot as I knew it would. My father is now home and feeling better, but he still has a long road to travel before he's completely recovered. So if you could continue to pray for him that would be awesome. I adore you all for your help and support during this hard time in my life. I needed it badly.**

**Okay, now I want to address some of things that I read in my reviews. Two people questioned Dean's behavior toward Rivan. Yes, his behavior was supposed to be annoying, and it was supposed to raise eyebrows and spawn questions. Let me assure you that there is a reason why he's acting this way. The reason will come out in a later chapter, perhaps in chapter fifteen. Until then you will see more harsh behavior toward Rivan as far as Dean is concerned. Not really in this chapter but in the next one. And when I say harsh behavior I don't mean abusive or overly cruel, but the fact that he's hard on her will be obvious. Please don't be alarmed, I do have a point for all of this. It'll all work out in the end. I promise! :-)**

**Okay, so I got my first request to write a sex scene. I'll be honest with you. I've written several stories in the past and not one of them contained a sex scene. I can't see myself writing a full blown sex scene. Maybe a bit of kissing and petting and some pillow talk as they call it, but that's it. After the kissing, petting, and talking the scene will fade to the next scene, or something like that. Sorry everyone, I'm just not a sex scene writer. It was an interesting suggestion and I gave it some thought, but in the end I just can't see myself doing it.**

**Now, I just want to say that I'm glad that everyone is enjoying this story. I also want to thank you so much for supporting my work even when you find elements that you might not agree with. I appreciate that you have the maturity to acknowledge good work when you see it, in spite of disagreements on certain plot points. You've all been great reviewers and I've been having a blast sharing this story with you!**

**Okay, that's just about all I have to say right now. Well, except for my usual. Please forgive any mistakes you may find while reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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><p>It seemed like I had only been asleep for five minutes before something woke me. That something came in the form of Eden, who had snuck up stairs and slipped into my room. I sat up quickly and watched as she closed my bedroom door very quietly. "What are you doing?" I asked her in a whisper. "Won't you get in trouble for coming in here?"<p>

She shook her head as she moved forward toward my bed. "Dean didn't say not to come in here, and neither did Sam," she told me as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Did he spank you?" she asked next, not beating around the bush.

Now I shook my head. "Nope."

Eden's eyes went wide. "He didn't?" I shook my head again. Eden frowned and then eyed me suspiciously. "You wouldn't lie to me, would you?"

"If he had, would I be able to sit like this? Even on the mattress?" I asked with a blush.

She blinked and then made a face. "No probably not," she said, still eyeing me. "I can't believe he didn't. I mean, you went outside. How did you get away without getting the belt? And what happened that made you go outside?"

"I didn't go all the way out," I told her, and I explained everything that happened. By the time I was done, Eden looked mad.

"So it was all Dean's fault!" she said rather loudly.

"Shhh!" I warned her, and she flinched, glancing at the door. "And no it wasn't. Not all of it. I was the idiot that decided I just had to get that tampon."

"Well he was being an ass when all you were doing was asking him to go get something out of the car for you! I can't believe him sometimes! Did you tell Sam about that?"

"No, actually I didn't," I admitted.

"Why not?" Eden demanded.

"I don't know. I was too busy worrying about getting spanked with his belt again. And anyway, what difference would it have made if I had told him? Sam would have just said I should have backed off and waited for him to come home. Which is true. I should have just left it alone and gone off. Instead I let Dean annoy me so bad I ended up calling him a dick head _and_ an asshole."

Eden shrugged. "It's like I told him. He _is_ a dick head and an asshole."

"Yeah telling him that was pretty crazy. Didn't you get in trouble for that?"

I watched as Eden turned slightly red. "Yeah. He gave me a smack the second he closed your door."

I nodded. "I thought that's what I heard. I hope that was all you got."

Eden made a face and her blush deepened. "No," she muttered. "I got more. He took me to that office room, and I was still arguing with him and trying to get back up here so I could check on you. I got away from him once and made it to the living room, but he caught me. He carried me back to the office and spanked me."

I cringed. "Did he spank you real hard?"

Now Eden's face was a bright red, and she lowered her eyes to the bedspread. "Well, kind of. It certainly wasn't the worst spanking he's ever given me, but it wasn't fun either."

"Yeah I bet not."

She sighed and shrugged, and then she looked up at me. "I thought for sure Sam was going to take his belt to you again," she said next, changing the subject.

Now I sighed as well. "He would have if I hadn't hurt myself. I guess he felt too sorry for me to spank me."

"Good. That's awesome that you got away with breaking his most serious rule. I can't believe it."

Now it was my turn to make a face. "Well…I don't think I'm going to get away with it completely. I think he may spank me later. He said I was pale and that I didn't look like I felt good, so he made me rest. But he never said he wasn't going to spank me," I added.

Eden mumbled a rather bad word. "That's not fair," she said with a pout.

"I know," I agreed as I grabbed my pillow and wrapped my arms around it. "I don't want another spanking. Especially with his belt. It hurts big time."

"Trust me, I know all about it," Eden said with a loud, heavy sigh. For a few minutes we just sat there in silence, each lost in our own thoughts. Then suddenly Eden gasped and glanced at her watch. "Oh gosh, they're going to have dinner ready soon!" she said as she jumped off the bed. "It's their turn to cook. Though I was supposed to be helping. But I came up here instead. I know Dean will be wondering what happened to me. Come on, let's just go downstairs now before I get caught in here."

"I thought you said Dean didn't say you couldn't come in here," I said as I got up and followed her to the door.

"Well he didn't really, but…he may not have wanted me to. Better safe than sorry, right?" she asked with a grin.

I grinned back. "Right," I said, and together we left the room and started for the stairs. Long before we got there we could hear the loud voices of Sam and Dean, arguing in the kitchen. I shot Eden an alarmed look and she shrugged before raising a finger to her lips to signal silence. I nodded and then we crept down the stairs quietly and moved forward a little, listening.

"I can't believe it Sam!" Dean was saying. "I can't believe you didn't spank her! What the hell?"

"Dean, she was hurt!" Sam snapped back at him. "She was hurt and she was crying and she was white as a sheet! I couldn't spank her!"

"Why the hell not? She went outside! Or opened the door and stood there, whatever it was!"

"I know that, but…she was in no state to handle a spanking. Not the kind she had earned."

"Then why didn't you turn her over your knee at least and give her a few smacks with your hand?"

"Because the fall seemed to have bothered her a lot, Dean! There for a while she really looked like she was going to be sick. If it had been Eden, and she was hurt and in that state, would you have gone ahead and taken your belt off and wailed on her ass any way?" A tense silence filled the kitchen, and then suddenly Dean swore. "I didn't think so," Sam said with a snort.

"Okay fine, smart ass," Dean growled. "But you shouldn't let her get away with it completely! She needs some kind of spanking, Sam. Even if it's not with your belt."

Sam was quiet for a moment. "I know," he finally said. "As long as she's feeling better, I'll give her one tomorrow at the very latest. Now drop it already. I don't like you questioning me about how I deal with her. I don't question you about how you deal with Eden. So stop doing it to me, would you?"

Dean swore again and then mumbled some, but then I heard him grind out, "Fine whatever."

Another silence took over, and then Sam spoke again. "Listen, Rivan is going to apologize to you for calling you those names. She's going to do it whenever she comes in for dinner. Will you _please_ do me a favor and don't be smug about it? Don't rub it in, Dean. Just accept her apology and go on. Think you can do that? For me at least?"

A few more swear words and snarls filled the kitchen, and then Dean muttered what sounded like a "Fine." Then suddenly he spoke again, and his voice was louder. "Where the hell did Eden get off to? She said she was going to the bathroom. That was almost thirty minutes ago. She was supposed to be helping us out in here."

"I imagine she snuck into Rivan's room to check on her," Sam said, not sounding at all concerned about that. Next to me Eden twitched a little, but didn't move otherwise.

"Well I damn well better not find her in there," Dean replied, and this time Eden actually jumped. "I'll bust her ass again if I do," he added, and we could hear footsteps as he started toward the kitchen door. Eden suddenly grabbed my hand and practically lunged forward, dragging me behind.

"You won't have to do that!" she said as Dean appeared in the kitchen door. "Here we are, ready for dinner!" she told him, speaking cheerfully and smiling widely at him. She reached him and tried to move around him, but he stood there blocking the door way.

"Where've you been?" he demanded as he stared down at Eden, his eyes hard. "You went to the bathroom thirty minutes ago. I thought you were going to help Sam and me get dinner ready."

"You should know how women are by now, Dean," she told him calmly. "We always take longer than men in the bathroom."

"Well I don't know what the hell you could have been doing in there other than the obvious," he told her, folding his arms across his chest. "You've already taken a shower today. What did you do, forget to shave your legs or something?"

"Listen to you, you're so funny," Eden told him as she stood on her tip toes to kiss his lips, which were set in a straight, stern line. "Move over hon, so I can get our drinks."

"Did you go in Rivan's room?" he asked her, ignoring her words.

"Actually _I_ went into _her_ room," I spoke up quickly, and Dean looked at me sharply. Behind him I could see Sam leaning against the sink, facing me, his arms also crossed over his chest. He was gazing at me intensely, and I looked away and focused on Dean. "Sam never said I absolutely had to stay in my room," I continued. "So when I heard Eden go into her room I went to talk to her."

For several terrible moments Dean stood there and stared down at me and then finally he looked back at Eden, who was staring at me as well, her eyes wide. "That true, sweetheart?" he asked her, and she jumped and looked at him.

Eden blinked, and I could see her trying to calm herself. "Well…I…you know, you never actually told me not to go into Rivan's room," she finally told him, not admitting to anything.

"No I didn't, but I figured by now that you'd know you weren't supposed to go in there when you thought she might be in trouble," he answered back, fixing his blue eyes onto her own, lighter blue eyes. Horrible, heart pounding silence followed. While it went on I looked back at Sam, who was now frowning at me. Crap. Too late, I was realizing I shouldn't have told my lie. I glanced back at Eden, who was staring up at Dean with the wide eyes of a deer caught in the head lights.

"You did go into her room, didn't you?" Dean asked her, very quietly. Like Sam, he sounded scary when he spoke so quietly.

I watched Eden go pale, and then watched as her entire face lit up with a deep red color. She swallowed hard. "Yes sir," she said in a whisper, looking down at the floor.

Dean snorted. "I figured. When we're done with dinner, we'll talk about this a bit more, you and me. And you," he suddenly added, looking at me again. "If I didn't think Sam would object, a lot, I'd spank you myself for lying to me. I don't like to be lied to. Eden knows all about that," he said, looking back at Eden. She seemed to have lost a lot of her nerve though, and didn't look back at him.

Dean stared at her for a bit longer and then moved aside. "Come on, dinner's almost ready. Get everyone a drink," he told her, pointing into the kitchen. "I already got all the glasses down for you," he added. Biting her lip, Eden started forward, and when she went by him Dean delivered a solid smack to her ass. She jumped about a mile, let out a little whimper, and with one hand over her ass she hurried into the kitchen and to the refrigerator, where she began pulling out ice cube trays for the drinks.

"Dean!" I cried out in protest. "Don't! Please! Please don't spank her! It was my fault! I lied and said I'd gone into her room."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that," he said as he turned and went back into the kitchen. "But she didn't say any different, not until I made her tell the truth. And when I asked her the first time where she'd been all this time, she lied to me then."

"But Dean, I—"

"Rivan!" Sam suddenly snapped, and it was my turn to jump. "Enough. Eden did something she knew she wasn't supposed to do, and she knows it. Whatever happens because of that is not your business, so you better stop arguing with Dean. Don't worry about Eden. Worry about yourself. Number one, you're already in a lot of trouble. And now you've gone and made it worse. You flat out lied to Dean, and I'm not real happy with you over that. And though I didn't tell you specifically to stay in your room, I did tell you to take a nap. Not have a conversation with Eden, when you knew Dean didn't want her in there with you to begin with. Now come here and start dishing the food up. And don't you dare give me any lip," he added when my mouth flew open. "Got it?"

Ah hell. Now I was going to have to say "yes sir" in front of Dean and Eden. I always hated that. Though I hated saying it in front of Dean more so, because he usually smirked when I did. But I didn't see how I was going to get out of it. So with slumped shoulders I lowered my eyes to the floor, as Eden had done with Dean. "Yes sir," I said in a small voice.

"Good. Now get in here and do as you're told." Still not looking at him or Dean, I hurried into the kitchen and over to the counter. I saw that Sam had the plates out already and I was glad of that. Eden, who knew us all well and already knew what we liked to drink without asking, had the drinks poured and was now taking them to the table. When she was done she came over to help me and took the first plate I filled and carried it to the table, which she placed in front of Dean. After a few minutes I realized I was dishing up lasagna, and despite the trouble I knew I was in, my stomach growled at the wonderful smell of the meal. I had to hand it to Sam and Dean. They knew how to make good lasagna. They didn't get much chance to do it, but when they did they always out did themselves.

All was quiet as I dished up the food onto the rest of the plates. Eden carried my plate and Sam's to the table, and came back for hers. I handed it to her, and then reached out and squeezed her arm gently in apology for the problem I had caused. She looked up at me and gave me a soft smile and then turned and went to the table. She sat down next to Dean, and with a sigh I took my place beside Sam. He insisted, like he always did, that we pray before we ate, and he said the prayer because he was always good at. When he was done we all began to eat, everyone still being quiet. Most of the meal went like that, until near the end. After taking a long drink of his water, Sam glanced at me.

"Rivan," he said quietly, and I looked over at him. "Isn't there something you want to say to Dean?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at me.

_Not really_. I thought, and almost said it. I think Sam knew that because he narrowed his eyes at me in warning. Sighing rather loudly, I looked across the table at Dean, who was watching me. Despite the fact that Sam had asked him not to be smug about this, I could see a tiny little smirk on his lips, and see a faint smugness in his eyes. Clutching my fork tightly in my hand, I took a quiet breath and looked him straight in the eyes. Right up until that point I had been planning on making my apology as dry and sarcastic as possible, the consequences be damned. But now that Eden was in trouble I didn't want to do that. If I did it would make Dean mad, and he might be more inclined to punish Eden. I was hoping to talk him out of that, and if I wanted to get him in a good enough mood to even try that I had to behave myself. Damn all that behaving nonsense.

But I was going to do it anyway, for Eden's sake. "I'm sorry about this afternoon," I told Dean, speaking softly but clearly. "I'm sorry I called you those names, and I promise that I won't do it again."

For a moment Dean just sat there and stared at me, and then he cleared his throat. "Yeah well," he grumbled as he picked up his fork and stabbed a piece of lasagna. "I was kind of being an ass anyway, so never mind about it," he told me, and stuffed the forkful of noodles in his mouth.

Now it was my turn to stare as he sat there and ate, not looking at me. I wasn't expecting him to respond quite like that. I thought that at the very least he would simply snort at me and give me one of his "Whatever" comments. I watched him for a moment and then cleared my throat. "Dean?" I said timidly. He stopped eating and looked at me. "Will you please, _please_ not spank Eden for coming into my room? Please Dean, she was just worried about me. She wanted to check on me, that's all. Wouldn't you want to check on Sam if you thought something was wrong, if he had been hurt somehow?"

This time I did get that snort. "I knew you'd try that," he said. "That whole Sam line. That's a different situation all together."

"How?" I asked, forcing myself to stay calm. "How is it different? Sam is your brother. Eden is like a sister to me. We may not be blood, but we've known each other since I was four years old, and she five. We've been through everything together, shared things just like sisters would. She _is_ my sister in every sense, just like I'm hers. It's natural for her to want to check on me, to make sure I'm okay and comfortable. Just like you do with Sam. Don't punish her for that. Please."

"If I do punish her, it'll mainly happen because she lied to me when I asked where she'd been," Dean informed me, looking over at Eden, who was sitting there staring at her half eaten dinner. "She knows better than to lie to me. If I decide she deserves to be spanked, that's what she'll get it for. End of story," he said, his tone ringing with a terrible finality.

But I wasn't going to give up that easily. "But Dean, I—"

"Rivan," Sam cut me off for the second time, though this time he didn't snap at me. Still I jumped, just a little, and looked at him. "That's enough," he told me quietly. "You've had your say. You've made your point. Leave it alone now and finish your dinner." My mouth flew open, ready to protest, but I stopped as Sam's eyebrows went up again, the warning in his eyes clear.

"Yes sir," I grumbled. Letting out a frustrated huff, I looked back at my food and found that it was not as interesting as before. Eden seemed to feel the same way, because she picked at the remainder of her food while Sam and Dean finished theirs. As soon as they were done Eden and I got up and started cleaning up. To our surprise Sam and Dean pitched in, and once it was all done Dean took Eden's hand and started out of the kitchen.

"We're going upstairs," Dean called to Sam as he pulled Eden along, who was walking close beside him, looking miserable. Tears filled my eyes as I watched, and I would have given anything to help her. But I had problems of my own.

"Okay," Sam said as he took my hand, his grip firm. Feeling rather miserable myself, I let him lead me out of the kitchen. He hung a right once out of the kitchen and started toward the office in the back of the house, a place he usually went when he was doing some of his research. Not that he'd had a whole lot of research to do lately. But he was still looking for a way to destroy that ring James wanted so badly, and many times I knew he'd sit late into the night in the office, sitting at the desk and looking through sites and articles on his laptop until his eyes crossed.

"Do you think Dean will really spank Eden?" I moaned as Sam pulled me into the large office. He paused and flipped on the lights, and then walked further in. It was an office made for a man, with a large oak desk sitting in front of two huge bay windows. The walls were done in dark, rich blue wallpaper, with an oak border at the top. There was a brown leather couch along with a leather chair the same color, and in front of the couch there was a small coffee table. The carpet, as we had been told by Bobby, had been dyed the same dark blue as the wall, and it was so thick my feet sank into when I walked on it. A small writing desk was against the wall on the left of the room, and close to that was a door that led to a bathroom. All in all, it was a great room.

But the nicely designed and decorated room did not hold my attention tonight. I looked at Sam, waiting for an answer, but all I got was an order. "Close the door," he told me as he went to the bay windows to pull down the shades. Sighing, I hurried to the door and closed it and then turned back to him. He had the shades down on the windows, and now he turned to the desk. He had left his laptop there, and I watched as he picked it up and moved it aside. He fiddled with a few other things on the desk, and I watched until I could stand it no more.

"Sam?" I said in the same timid voice I had used with Dean. He looked up at me, his eyes hard. "Do you think Dean will spank Eden?" I asked again.

"I don't know Rivan," he told me, sounding a bit tired. "It's his choice, and there isn't anything we can do about it."

I sighed again, and for a few minutes we were both quiet. "Are _you_ going to spank _me_?" I finally asked, my voice much softer this time. I remembered his conversation with Dean and I pretty much knew a spanking was inevitable, but I was afraid that I had gone and hurried it along.

"Well," he said as he pulled out the chair and sat behind the desk. "You didn't take a nap like I told you to, and you told Dean a deliberate lie. I don't like you lying to him anymore than I like you lying to me, because lying to him is just like lying to me."

"I was just trying to protect Eden," I protested. "I don't think she really did anything that bad."

"She knew she wasn't supposed to go into your room. Whether or not Dean told her not to, she knew she wasn't supposed to. Everyone knows that, Rivan. It's that simple," he told me firmly.

I had to fight real hard not to make a face at him. "Okay, fine. But did you really expect me to tell on her?"

"No. I expected you to keep quiet and let Eden handle it. She was the one in trouble at that moment. Not you. You had no business getting into it."

"Yes I did!" I told him, trying hard not to get mad. "Like I said before, she's like my sister and it's natural for me to want to protect her!"

"That's all fine and great, Rivan," Sam growled at me as he leaned back in his chair. "But she wasn't in danger of being killed or tortured. You should have kept your mouth shut. Instead you had to go rattle off a lie and make things worse. Don't you remember what happens when you act rashly?"

I stood there and stared at him, and my bottom lip began to tremble. "I'm sorry," I moaned. "I just didn't want her to get in trouble!"

"Understandable like I said, but you should have stayed quiet," Sam informed me firmly as he studied me with hard eyes. "And whenever I ask you a question, you're to answer with a 'Yes sir' or a 'No sir'. We've been over that, Rivan. More times than I should have allowed. I shouldn't have to remind you. Do you understand?"

I whimpered and bit down on my lip. "Yes sir," I whispered, looking down at the blue carpet, which seemed to be trying to swallow my feet.

"Good. But when you answer me, you better look at me, and when you answer, you better be sure I can hear you. No more whispered responses. Is that clear?"

My shoulders slumped at bit upon hearing that, and I folded my arms under my breasts. Taking a deep breath, I slowly looked up at him. "Yes sir," I said a bit louder, though not too loud. Hell, I didn't want him to think I was yelling at him.

"Good. Much better. Now come here," he told me, pushing his chair back a bit and turning it slightly to the left. Fighting back tears, I did as he said and walked slowly over to him. I reached him all too soon though, and I stood in front of him staring at the carpet again as my heart thumped quickly against my rib cage.

Sighing, Sam sat back in his chair again, propping one elbow on the arm of the chair while rubbing his free hand across his eyes. "Sit," he ordered, pointing at his knee. _Well at least he didn't say bend over_, I thought as I carefully perched myself on his right knee. I sat there for a while and Sam just watched me, not saying anything. Finally after what felt like a half hour he spoke.

"I'm not going to remind you to call me sir anymore, Rivan," he told me. "Fair warning. Either you do it, or else. I am not going to waste time fighting with you over that. From now on whenever you don't say it I'm going to spank you. Do you understand me?"

Sniffling, I looked up at him. "Yes s-sir," I said, my voice catching as the tears became heavier in my eyes.

"Good," he said quietly, and to my surprise he reached up and began rubbing my back. "That's my good girl."

At the sound of his gentle words and his praise, along with the soothing back rub, I sniffled again, rather pitifully, and the tears began to fall. I reached up and tried to wipe them away but there were too many, and without a word Sam leaned over and picked up a box of tissue that was on his desk. He held it out to me and I took a few and dabbed at my eyes. Sam went back to rubbing my back as I tried to calm down, and then he spoke again.

"How are your legs feeling?" he asked as he studied them, carefully running his free hand over a few of the band aids.

"Still sore," I choked out. "Sir," I added quickly, not sure if I was supposed to but wanting to cover all the bases.

I thought I saw a smile flash across his handsome face, but I couldn't be sure. "Yeah, I imagine they are still sore. What about your chin?" he asked, gently placing his hand on my right cheek and guiding my face until I was looking at him. "Does it still hurt?" he asked as he studied that too. "What about your face? Does it hurt?"

"Yes sir," I said softly.

"Hmm. Did you take anymore aspirin?"

"No sir."

He glanced at the clock on the desk. "Well, actually you've got a few more hours before you can take any more," he said, and patted my back. "Does it hurt a lot?"

"No sir," I answered again, turning red. Calling him "sir" so many times in a row was always embarrassing for me.

"Okay. If it gets worse, or if it changes in any other way, be sure to tell me. Don't wait. Understand?"

A few more tears rolled down my cheeks, and I dabbed my face with the tissue I still had in my hand. "Yes sir," I said again, still softly. But obviously not too softly, because Sam didn't appear to be upset with the way I was answering. He said nothing in response, and began to rub my back again. We sat like that for another few minutes, and then, gathering my courage, I spoke.

"Sam?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you going to spank me?"

He was quiet for a moment, and he studied me hard. I bit down on my lower lip and squirmed as he stared at me. That lasted a few more minutes and then he sighed. "Not tonight," he said, and I looked up at him in surprise. "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to at all. You're going to get one, and it'll be tomorrow. Do you understand?"

I nodded and sniffled. It was what I expected, but I still didn't like hearing it. "Yes sir," I replied in a sad voice. Probably less than a second after I said that, we were suddenly not alone. Castiel appeared out of thin air right in front of us, and I couldn't hold back a startled little scream as I cringed closer to Sam, throwing my arms around him.

Despite being more used than I was to the Angel popping up out of the blue, Sam seemed a bit startled as well. "Geez Cas," he growled at the Angel, who was standing there staring down at us with the same impassive look on his face he'd been wearing the first time I met him. "Can't you give people a bit more warning before you do that?" Cas said nothing, merely tilted his head to the left. Sam sighed. "No, of course not," he said. "Why do I even bother asking?"

"I do not know," Cas replied, his tone unconcerned. "I often wonder that as well. You are too easy on her," he said next, not pausing at all as he nodded at me. My eyes went wide, and Sam frowned.

"What?"

"You are too easy on her," Cas repeated in the exact same tone. "When you learned that she had disobeyed you and opened the front door, you should have given her the promised punishment."

"Hey!" I cried out, unable to help myself. "Whose side are you on anyway?"

Slowly Cas turned his head to look at me. "I am on God's side," he said, his tone flat and hard.

"That's not what I meant!"

"Never mind," Sam said when Cas frowned. "Cas, I made the decision not to punish her at the moment for a reason. That reason being—"

"Yes I know," Cas cut him off calmly. "Because she was hurt and crying and not feeling well. And you do not do it now because she is still not feeling well. That can be fixed," he added, and before either one of us could do anything about it Cas leaned forward, touched my forehead with the tip of his right forefinger, and a bright light briefly filled the room.

When it faded all my pains were gone, and when I looked down at my legs the band aids were actually gone too, and now all I had was clear, smooth skin. He had healed me as he had done that night in the hotel bathroom. I reached up quickly and felt my chin. It too was band aid and scrape free. Though part of me was glad all my little injuries were gone, I was mad at the Angel for doing it. He had only done it so Sam could punish me!

"Now she is no longer feeling badly," Cas told Sam. "She has no wounds. You are free to punish her as she deserves," he added, proving I'd been right.

"That's not fair!" I yelled at the Angel, my temper getting the better of me.

Again Cas slowly turned his head to look at me. "There is a saying that I have picked up from humans," he told me, his voice harder than before. "Life is not fair."

I opened my mouth to bellow at him, but Sam stopped me. "Enough Rivan," he warned me, keeping his eyes on the Angel. "Cas, what are you doing here? I know you didn't show up to heal Rivan just so I could spank her."

"That was only one of the reasons," Cas replied. "I have come for another reason. To deliver a message from God. Your three months of hiding is almost done, but He wishes you to stay here until further notice."

I stared at him in shock. I had not really been paying attention to the passage of time, and I'd had no idea our time here was coming close to ending. Or had been. Now it would go on a bit longer, apparently. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about that, and I glanced at Sam.

He wasn't worried about our sudden extended stay, though. He was more concerned about why it had been extended. "We have to stay here longer? Why?"

"James has learned that the ring you gave him is false," Cas explained calmly. "He and the other vampires that follow him had your scent, as well as Dean's, and of course Rivan's and Eden's. They would have been able to easily track you down, but God has fixed that. They no longer have your scents."

"How did he do that? How _can_ he do that?" Sam asked with a frown.

Cas frowned back. "He is God," he told Sam. "He can do anything."

"Well if that's so, why doesn't he just go ahead and wipe all the vampires out for us?" I demanded sharply. Sam poked me in the back for that comment, and I flinched and looked at him. He frowned at me and I sighed but looked back at Cas, waiting for an answer.

"As I have told Sam before, there are certain things that need to happen for certain reasons," the Angel told me. "None of which you would understand, and none of which you need to know."

I snorted. "That's such a load of—"

"Rivan!" Sam barked, causing me to jump. "That's enough," he told me, and looked back at Cas. "Okay, if they can't track us why do we have to stay here?"

"It will make things easier if you stayed in one place, and it would also help in keeping other vampires from picking up your scent again."

"Well even if they do can't God just fix that again?" I asked, more out of curiosity than for the desire to be sarcastic.

Cas still didn't seem to like my question though. "Of course," he said, his tone growing even harder, his eyes beginning to take on an icy glare. "But we fear that the vampires may enlist the help of other…creatures to find you. Like demons," Cas added, looking at Sam. I noticed that he flinched but nodded ever so slightly. I gave him a confused look but he stayed focused on the Angel.

"I know you have the house guarded against them as well as other things that may wish you harm, but these things may grow in number, and very quickly," Cas continued. "If you were wandering around as you usually do, it would make finding you easier. God wishes you to stay in one place for a while longer."

Sam was quiet for a few minutes, and I watched as he thought everything over. "Okay," he said finally. "Fine, we'll stay then. For how long?"

"Until God says otherwise," Cas told him.

Sam blinked in surprise. "Well…how are we supposed to fight these vampires and whatever else is working for them if we stay here?"

"Right now you are not required to fight anything. You and Dean are required to stay here and continue to protect Rivan and Eden. Even from themselves," he added darkly, glaring at me. I really wanted to throw something at the Angel, but I figured Sam would think such an act would call for a spanking.

But a thought suddenly occurred to me. "So if the vampires can't track us anymore, it should be okay for us to go outside every now and then, right?" I asked, my eyes going wide with excitement.

Cas pinned me with a dark look. "No," he told me, his eyes practically cutting into me. "You and Eden must remain in the house."

"But why?" I whined. "If the vampires can't track us why can't we go outside?"

"I told you. There are other things besides vampires that seek to harm you," Cas told me, frowning very intensely at me. "Were you not listening to me?"

I sighed and glared at him for a moment. "Okay, fine. So Eden and I have to stay inside. But what about Sam and Dean? They have to stay in too, right?"

"No," Cas said, and he did not elaborate.

My mouth fell open. "Why? Why do they get to go outside but we can't? That's stupid!"

"That is yet another thing you would not understand, and something you do not need to know."

"Rivan!" Sam warned me again when I showed every sign of having a fit. Pouting, I crossed my arms and slumped against Sam, glaring at the floor.

"I cannot explain anything more," Cas said when Sam looked at him. "I have many things to do. I trust that you will tell Dean all that I have said this evening." And, just as quickly as he had appeared, he was gone. For several minutes Sam and I just sat there, staring at the spot where he had been standing. Finally I looked at Sam, and he looked at me.

"What's going to happen now?" I asked, my voice coming out in a whisper. I looked up into his eyes, which were dark with worry.

Sam was quiet for a moment. "I don't know," he finally said, his voice soft. "I really don't know, baby."

* * *

><p>Once we had finally gotten over our shock, more or less, Sam took his phone out and called Dean, rather than go upstairs and risk interrupting anything that may be going on. After a few minutes of talking he convinced Dean to come downstairs and to the office, and Sam told him that he needed to bring Eden with him. Only a few minutes had passed before Dean was shoving open the door, dragging Eden in behind him.<p>

"What the hell is going on?" Dean demanded. He looked rather mad, and while he was glaring at his brother I looked at Eden, searching for any signs that she had gotten a spanking. Unfortunately I found them. Her face was red and her eyes were swollen and puffy, all evidence that she had she been crying. As she stood there I noticed that she looked concerned and confused, and I knew she was wondering why Sam had insisted that she and Dean come in here.

As I sat there in Sam's lap watching Eden Sam sighed and patted my back, which was a signal for me to get up. I did so quickly, and as soon as I turned and faced Dean his eyes went wide. Of course he had noticed that my wounds and band aids were gone.

"Hey, weren't you all scratched up a little while ago?" he asked, staring at me. Eden had noticed my miraculous recovery too and she was staring at me with wide eyes.

"She was," Sam answered Dean. "Cas was just here. He healed her."

Dean's eyes grew wider. "Cas was here? Just now? What did he want?" Sam's eyebrows shot up, and Dean let go of Eden's hand and crossed the room to stand in front of the desk. Since it seemed Sam wanted a quiet word with him, I quickly crossed the room to where Eden was standing.

"Are you okay?" I asked her softly, while I had the chance.

"Yes," she whispered. "I'm fine."

"He spanked you." It was not a question.

She blushed and sighed. "Yes," she muttered. "But I'm okay." Before I could reply she glanced at Dean and Sam. "What's going on?" she asked me. "What did Cas want?"

"If you ladies are done chatting, I really need you both to listen to what I have to say. Or Eden to listen, at least," Sam suddenly called to us, and we looked up to see that he and Dean were staring at us, disapproving frowns on their handsome faces.

"Sorry," Eden mumbled as Dean's gaze cut into her. She stepped back and away from me a little and then waited patiently.

"Okay Sammy, you've got everyone's attention. What's goin' on?" Dean asked again.

Sam sighed deeply and leaned back in his chair. "Well, like I said, Castiel was just here. He came to deliver a message. It seems that God wants us all to stay in this house until further notice."

A moment of silence bounced around the room, and then Dean swore. "Why? What's the deal?" As quickly as he could Sam told Dean everything that Castiel had told us, and Dean swore again.

"So basically he told you nothing, just that we have to stay here. And he wouldn't even say for how long. Typical. That's just friggin' typical!" he snarled, causing Eden to jump even though he was not directing his anger toward her.

"I know Dean, but I don't see any reason to get worked up over it," Sam told him. "I think we should just stay here like we're supposed to and see what happens." Dean muttered a few things that I missed, and I was glad I had.

"But I don't understand something," Eden suddenly spoke up, and everyone looked at her. "Castiel said we, meaning me and Rivan, couldn't go outside. Why not, if the vampires can't track us?"

"He said that other creatures beside vampires could be after us," I answered before Sam could. "But he didn't seem one hundred percent sure about that, and I pushed him for a better answer but he wouldn't give me one," I added, my tone rather grumpy.

Dean snorted. "Typical," he grumbled again.

"Okay, but then why can Sam and Dean go out but we can't?" Eden asked next.

"He said that it was something he couldn't explain, and that I wouldn't understand it anyway," I growled. "And he wouldn't say anymore about it."

"Look," Sam interrupted when Eden's mouth flew open. "He didn't explain, so we don't entirely understand it. Let's not argue and whine about it right now. There's nothing we can do. There's no way we can change it."

"Easy for you to say!" Eden snapped at him. "You can still go outside whenever you want to!"

"Eden!" Dean growled at her. "Don't talk to Sam like that. Apologize. Now."

For a moment Eden just stared at Dean, and then with a soft sigh she glanced at Sam. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, lowering her eyes to the carpet.

"It's fine," Sam said with a wave of his hand. "But really, let's not fight about this anymore. Like I said, there's nothing we can do about it right now. It's better that we just stay put."

Again silence rang throughout the room, and then Dean sighed and muttered something. "Fine," he snapped. "Whatever. Eden," he added, and Eden looked at him quickly, her eyes wide. "It's time for you to go to bed. Now," he added, pointing to the door.

I could tell that Eden really did not want to go to bed right now, but I knew she wasn't going to argue with Dean about it. She had already gotten two spankings today. I knew she wouldn't want to earn another one. "Yes sir," she said, and turned and started toward the door.

"I'll be up there in a few minutes to check on you," Dean called after her, and I noticed that his voice was a bit softer this time.

"Yes sir," Eden said again, her voice a bit shaky now. Not scared shaky, but I-really-need-some-comfort shaky. I watched as she left the room and once she was gone I stood there for a moment, not sure what to do.

Then I suddenly remembered that Cas had healed me, completely, and I clearly remembered why he had healed me. Yep, it was time for me to go to bed too. "I'm tired," I announced, trying to sound calm and casual. "I think I'll go to bed too. Night!" Without waiting for a response I turned and hurried to the door, praying I wouldn't be stopped.

No such luck. "Rivan," Sam said. His tone was calm but firm and I cringed as I stopped.

Slowly I turned around and looked back at him. "Yes sir?" I asked, my voice coming out more timid sounding than I liked.

"You need to stay in here," Sam told me as he watched me. "We've got a few more things we need to discuss." I felt my heart sink and I didn't move.

Snorting softly, Dean, who had been sitting on the corner of the desk, stood and stretched. "That's my cue to leave," he drawled out. "Night Sammy," he added as he walked by me and out the door.

"Night," Sam called back as he kept his eyes on me. Dean had left the door open and Sam nodded at it. "Close the door," he ordered.

Instantly a lump swelled in my throat and my eyes began to burn. Trying hard to fight the sobs that were trying to claw their way out of my mouth, I turned stiffly and went to the door. I closed it as slowly as I could, but really you can only go so slow when closing a door without being painfully obvious. So finally I got the door closed and then slowly I turned back to face Sam, but I didn't look at him. I stood there and stared at the carpet as I waited, still trying to hang onto my composure.

"Come here," Sam ordered next, and I flinched and looked up at him.

"You said you weren't going to spank me tonight," I reminded him softly as tears sprang into my eyes.

Sam sighed quietly. "That was when you were still hurt and not feeling well," he told me patiently. "You're fine now and I see no reason to put it off until morning. It's better to get it over with so no one will have to dread it all night long."

A whimper escaped before I could stop it, and I sighed loudly. I never thought it would be possible to hate an Angel, but at that moment I wasn't thinking very nice things about Cas. "What if I want to dread it all night long?" I asked Sam in a tiny voice.

Sam shook his head. "Too bad," he told me firmly. And then suddenly he stood up. He moved around the desk and started toward me, and I drew in a deep, shuddering breath but didn't move. I lowered my eyes to take in the carpet again and said nothing as Sam crossed the room and came to stand in front of me. "Rivan," he said again, and this time his tone was intense. "Look at me."

I let out a moan and then proceeded to burst into tears as I slowly looked up at him. I heard Sam sigh and the next thing I knew he had his strong arms wrapped around me, holding me tight. The hug took me by surprise but I didn't question it. Instead I hid my face against his chest and continued to cry. "Please Sam!" I wailed as I cried. "Please don't spank me! I'm sorry, I'll never do it again! Please!"

Sam gave me a little squeeze and kissed the top of my head. "Rivan," he began, and his tone was gentle but firm. "What did I tell you would happen if you opened any of the doors in this house, or if you went outside? What did I say I'd do?"

I groaned and turned my head a little to where my cheek was resting on his chest. "That you would give me a spanking with your belt!" I nearly howled out.

"That's right. And you remembered that when you opened that door this afternoon, didn't you? You knew you weren't supposed to do it, and you knew there'd be hell to pay if you got caught, didn't you?" I moaned again but didn't answer, and Sam reached up and wrapped his hands around my upper arms and gently pulled me away from him a little. Then he let go of one arm and caught my chin and lifted my face until our eyes met.

"I want an honest answer to that question," he told me quietly, and a heavy sob escaped my lips. "Your answer won't earn you extra punishment," he told me as he let go of my chin and tenderly stroked my cheek with the back of his fingers. "As long as it's an honest answer," he added. "And you know I'll be able to tell if it is or if it isn't." We stood there and stared at each for a moment and then Sam took a deep breath. "You knew what you were doing was wrong, didn't you? You went ahead and did it anyway, but you knew you were breaking my most serious rule."

Sam waited and I moaned again. "Yes sir!" I sobbed out. "But I didn't go outside! All I did was—"

"Open the door, which you knew better to do," Sam finished my sentence. "And then you stood right in the doorway, which you also knew better to do. Right?"

I stared at him with my mouth opened slightly, and then I whimpered. "Yes sir," I cried out miserably.

"And because you were standing in the doorway you slipped on the salt and fell right out the door. And in doing so you broke both salt lines. If anything had been near at the time, it would have snatched you up in a heartbeat," he told me, and his voice sounded odd as he said that.

I blinked up at him as my tears started to slow down. "You mean vampires?" I questioned.

Sam took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "No," he told me. "There aren't any around here, and thanks to Cas we now know why. I'm talking about demons, Rivan. I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid it would scare you and cause you to worry, but in the past few days Dean and I have seen them outside, around the house. We've seen three so far. They've all found bodies to posses." Sam cringed and for a moment he was quiet.

"Dean and I have been taking turns going out and setting up wards around the edge of the property to keep them back," he finally continued. "But the property is so big we haven't been able to cover all of it. If we could go out and do it together we'd have a better chance. But we can't leave you and Eden in here alone. So we have to do it one at a time. That's what I was doing outside this afternoon," he finished.

I stared up at him. "I saw you nod when Cas said demons could be working for James," I said. "I was wondering why. But if they're working for James and looking for us why haven't they gone to tell him where we are since they know we're here?"

"I'm sure they have," Sam said with a frown. "I'm going to assume that God has been protecting us like Cas said, and that's why we haven't had any problems," he added with a shrug. "I don't know. But what I do know is that the property is not fully protected from the demons. When you broke the salt lines this afternoon you left yourself wide open," he added as he stared down at me with a stern frown.

"Well if you had told me about the demons before I never would have done it!" I snapped at him, my tears gone and my stupid defiance taking their place.

It was very, very bad thing to say to Sam. Instantly his hazel eyes flared with dark anger and he let my chin go so he could grasp both my upper arms. He gave me a slight shake and I stared up at him in surprise. "You just don't follow my rules only when you think there's a good chance of danger, Rivan!" he snarled at me. "I've told you before, when I set down rules for you to follow and give you orders there's a damn good reason! These kinds of rules are made because our way of life is violent and unpredictable! Anything can happen at any given time! You've been with me and Dean for two years now! You should know that! My rules are to be followed at _all times_! Not just when you feel like following them!"

Without waiting for any kind of response from me, he grabbed my hand and marched me over to the couch. I expected him to sit down once he reached it but to my surprise he moved to the arm of the couch and sat on that instead. "Take your shorts off. All the way off," he ordered me. _"Now_, Rivan!_" _he added sharply when I just stood there and stared at him. For one stupid, idiotic moment I actually glared at him in defiance. I watched as Sam's eyes flashed dangerously and then suddenly he shot to his feet and took a threatening step toward me.

I let out a little shriek as I jumped back. "Okay I'm taking them off!" I wailed at him, flinging my hands up to ward him off. He took another step closer and I whimpered as my hand went to the button on my shorts. He stood there and watched me as I fumbled with it, and when I finally got it undone he slowly sat back down. Whimpering, I started on the zipper, and the sound of it was loud as I pulled it down. Tears filled my eyes as I started to push my shorts down and by the time I got them completely off I was crying openly and trembling.

"I'm sorry," I moaned as I watched him nervously, waiting for him to get up and take his belt off. "Sam, I'm sorry, please!"

But he didn't get up and the stern look on his face didn't soften. "Come here," he told me, beckoning to me with one long finger. I groaned loudly but moved over to him, and once I was in reach he caught my hand and guided me to stand right between his legs. I looked up at him in confusion and silently he caught my arm and turned me to where I was facing his left leg.

"Over," he ordered next, and I felt his hand on the small of my back, gently but firmly pushing me down. I started to cry a little harder as I draped myself over his thigh but a part of me felt relieved. Apparently I wasn't going to get the belt, which was more than fine with me. Not that a hand spanking from Sam was a good time by any means. His hand was solid and strong, and backed up with some serious muscles.

Seconds later I was reminded just how bad a hand spanking from Sam hurt. He started in spanking me fast and hard, and I howled and then burst into tears. As usual he held very little of his strength back and not too long into the spanking I had my back arched and was sobbing loudly and pleading with him to stop. He didn't of course. If anything he just spanked harder, and soon all I could do was lie there and cry as his hand came down sharply on my panty clad butt.

"This is for calling Dean names," he told me calmly as he struck one cheek and then the other, over and over. "This is also for lying about Eden coming into your room. It's also for not taking a nap when I told you to. Do you understand me, Rivan?" he asked, not pausing at all.

I had to take several deep breaths before I could answer, and even then it was hard because he was still spanking me. "Yes sir!" I wailed out. "I'm sorry, stop, please stop Sam!" Still he didn't. He spent several more minutes peppering my butt with stinging, burning smacks and when he finally stopped I went limp with relief as I sobbed.

"Get up Rivan," Sam told me quietly. His tone was still sharp and stern and I frowned. Usually after he spanked me like this he let me lie there and cry myself out while he rubbed my back and talked softly to me. If his tone was anything to go by, he wasn't done with me. _Crap_. I stayed put as I thought this over, and a few seconds later Sam's hand came cracking down across my heated backside. I shrieked in surprise and pain as I quickly pushed myself up, and once I was standing I looked at him with wide eyes as tears streamed down my cheeks.

"I told you to get up," Sam told me, still speaking quietly. "When I tell you to do something, I expect you to do it the moment I tell you to do it. Thinking about it first is not an option. Do you understand me, Rivan?"

"Yes sir," I moaned out as I cried pitifully.

"Good," he said, and I sniffled and glanced at him. He was gazing down at me as he sat there on the arm of the couch, and in those beautiful hazel eyes of his I could see very clearly the regret in them. Before I could wonder why he stood up and then his hand went to his belt buckle.

It felt like my stomach suddenly dropped to my knees. I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out, and all I could do was stand there and watch as he got the buckle undone. Once he had he started to pull it out of the belt loops on his jeans, and I couldn't help but stand there and watch in horrified fascination. The sound of the leather sliding through the loops was just as terrible as it had been last time, and my knees grew weak when Sam pulled the belt out of the last loop. He doubled it over like he had done last time, and then he looked down at me.

As soon as our eyes met I started to shake my head and then I started muttering the word "No" over and over again. I thought I saw Sam flinch ever so slightly, but before I could be sure the stern, determined look was back, and without a word he reached out and caught me by the upper arm. I started to cry as he moved back to sit on the arm of the couch again, and then I started to sob as he guided me to stand between his legs again.

"Panties down," he ordered me quietly, and I let out a moan of dread.

"Please Sam, can't I keep them up?" I begged him as the tears ran like rivers down my cheeks.

"No," he said sharply, so sharply it caused me to jump. "You can't. Now pull them down before I do it," he added. I knew there would be hell to pay if he had to do it, so trying very hard to hold back my devastated sobs, I turned to where I was facing his left leg and then I brought my shaking hands to the waist band of my panties. For a moment I didn't move, and then after taking a deep breath I began to pull them down.

My face burned with embarrassment as I pushed the lacey panties down to my knees. The whole deal of baring my own butt for a spanking was new to me. Sam had always done that part. And while that had been horrifying to me this was even worse because I was the one doing it. I hoped I wouldn't be made to do it often.

"That's fine," Sam suddenly said when I pushed my panties a little below my knees. "They don't need to go any lower than that," he added as he patted his left thigh. I let out a shuddering sob and then practically dove across his leg, eager to get this over with. As I stared down at the thick carpet below me Sam moved, and then I felt him rub my back for a moment. His touch was tender and soothing, and it took me by surprise.

I let out a pitiful whimper and Sam patted my back before wrapping his strong arm around my waist, and then I heard the belt clink. I was just starting up another round of wailing when the belt suddenly cracked down across my butt. I felt my eyes go wide and I gasped loudly, though it came out weird sounding because it merged with a powerful sob brought on by the fiery blow. The belt landed again, exactly in the same spot, and I started to sob loud and hard. It hurt just as badly as last time. For some stupid reason I had hoped he wouldn't spank me as hard this time. But he did. Every blow after that was like fire being ignited across my butt, and I screamed every time the leather made contact with my bare skin.

As Sam continued to bring the belt down over and over again, it occurred to me that he never said how many I was going to get. Was he just going to spank me until he felt I got the point? Until he thought I had learned my lesson? If that was so there was no telling how many I'd get. The idea freaked me out and I had just started to sob even harder when Sam suddenly stopped.

"Rivan," he said. "I'm curious about something. Do you think it's okay to disobey me?"

This unexpected question shocked me so much that my sobbing died down, and I was able to gasp out a confused, "Sir?"

"It's not a hard question, Rivan," Sam replied, his tone sharp. "Do you think it's okay to disobey me?"

I swallowed hard and closed my eyes. "No sir," I told him softly as I griped his leg a little harder.

"Okay, good," Sam said, and then I heard the belt clink again. My whole body went tense, expecting another blow, but the only thing I felt was the palm of Sam's warm hand as he rested it on my flaming cheeks. Apparently he had set the belt aside. Did that mean my spanking was over? I certainly hoped it was, but going by the tone of his voice and the way he was acting I had to force myself to conclude that I was a foolish dreamer.

"Okay, here's another question for you," Sam told me as he began rubbing my tender cheeks. "When I tell you that you'll be punished if I catch you disobeying me, do you think I'm lying to you?"

I shivered a little as Sam ran his hand over my left cheek and I bit down on my lower lip. "No sir," I said again as a few tears fell from my eyes and splashed down on the arm of the couch.

For a moment Sam said nothing as his hand roamed over to my right cheek. "Then why do you disobey me?" he asked quietly.

My mouth flew open and then I snapped it shut. I stayed silent for a few moments, and then I swallowed. "I don't know, sir," I told him, my voice tiny and timid.

I heard Sam draw in a deep breath, and then let it out slowly. "You know how I feel about lying, Rivan Langston," he said, and the warning in his voice was very clear.

Clear enough to scare me into crying again. "I'm not lying, Sam!" I cried out desperately.

"But you're the only one that would know the answer to that question," he told me, and suddenly he gave my right cheek a sharp slap. I jumped about a mile and started to cry harder, but I calmed down a little when Sam started rubbing the spot that he had slapped.

"I have a theory about that," he told me as he rubbed. "A theory about why you still disobey me." He paused for a moment as though waiting to see if I'd say anything, but I kept my mouth shut. "You're testing me," he went on, and I stiffened. "You've been doing it for weeks now. At first you only did it in little ways. You wanted to see if your smart mouth would earn you punishment, so you got smart with me. I was true to my word and I spanked you for your attitude. Then you went a bit farther with your testing and started disobeying me on small things. I spanked you for everything that you did.

"And then came the more serious testing. You decided to test me by breaking my most important rule. You opened the front door and left yourself wide open to attack. And now here we are," he added, his voice going up a notch or two. "You tested me and I'm responding as I promised I would."

"Sam, no! I wasn't testing you!" I told him as I felt my heart pick up speed.

"Yes you were, Rivan. You didn't even realize you were, but in the end that's exactly what you did. Think about it for a minute before you say anything," he advised when I let out a yelp of protest.

I closed my mouth and did as he said. It was true that I had tested him on all of the little things. The attitude and the rest of it, just like he said. But really, had I been crazy enough to test him on the whole door deal? I stayed perfectly still as I thought about it. Deep down I knew the answer.

"Rivan," Sam said, and I jumped again. "It's true, isn't it? You wanted to see just how serious I was when I told you I'd take my belt to you if you went anywhere near a door, let alone opened it."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, making a face as I did. Just for a little side note here, I was really hating myself at the moment. "Yes sir," I whispered, keeping my eyes closed as I spoke. "It's true."

Sam sighed deeply in response. "Well, I gotta admit, baby. You've got guts. Guts and a whole lot of nerve," he added as he lifted his hand off of my butt. I heard a terribly familiar clinking sound and without thinking I dug my fingernails into his leg and I squeezed my eyes shut tightly as I waited. Seconds later when I felt the cruel kiss of his leather belt across my naked butt cheeks my eyes popped open and I let out a heart wrenching wail before I started to sob.

"You think you're gonna test me again any time real soon?" Sam asked me as he brought the belt down hard across my sit spot.

I let loose with a deep, throaty sob and my right foot came off the ground for a moment before I brought it back down and dug my toes into the thick carpet. "NOOOOOOOOO!" I howled. "No sir, I won't, I won't! I promise I won't, Sam!" I assured him, my tone desperate and frantic.

"So I guess you're satisfied with the results of your testing," he continued dryly as he gave me another good wallop, again focusing only on my tender sit spot.

"Owwww, shit, yes sir!" I wailed at him. "I am, I am, no more Sam! Please, I've learned my lesson!" I told him as I rested my forehead on his thigh and clutched at his jeans, getting a crumpled handful of denim.

"Unfortunately baby, I don't think you have just yet," he replied, and I could hear the regret and pain in his voice. "For one thing you just put a cuss word into your answer. That's one habit you are _not_ gonna get into," he told me, and before I could say anything he brought the belt down four times, fast and hard, and I screamed and twisted in agony, horrified and furious with myself.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I shrieked frantically. "I didn't mean to, I'm sorry Sam!"

"You answer with a yes sir or a no sir," Sam told me, ignoring me for the moment as he smacked me again. "That's it. Do you understand me, Rivan?" he demanded as he brought the belt down again.

"Yes sir! Yes sir, I do understand! I swear I do, Sam please stop!" I begged him pitifully.

_Crack! _"Are you gonna stay away from the doors from now on?" he asked me, his voice stern and unyielding.

"Yes sir!" I bawled out. "I will, I promise!"

_Crack! Crack! Crack! _"Front _and _back?"

Exhausted now, I released my death grip on his leg and I went as limp as a wet noodle. "Yes s-s-sir!" I sobbed out, my voice breaking terribly.

_Crack! Crack! _"And what about my rules, Rivan?" he asked next. "When is the best time to follow my rules?"

"All the time, sir!" I moaned. "I need to follow your rules at all times!"

_Crack!_ "And why is that?" Sam asked me quietly as he paused.

I screeched when the belt landed across my sit spot again, and for a moment I was crying so hard I couldn't answer. Sam waited patiently though, and finally after a few minutes I could speak. "Because anything can happen at any time," I told him between my sobbing. "I need to follow your rules like we're in danger all the time, because in the life of hunters there is real danger every minute of every day, no matter how calm things seem to be." I have no idea how I found it in me to say all of that as upset as I was. I had surprised myself, and I could tell I had surprised Sam as well.

"Very good," he replied, and he did sound impressed as well as pleased. "Very well said. Good girl. I'm proud of you for seeing that and saying it. But be aware that now that I know that you fully understand all the dangers that are out there waiting for us, from now on I will bust your ass big time if you do anything to put yourself in danger again. Because I'll figure that you did it on purpose just because you felt like being a brat, and not because you didn't understand the seriousness of the situation. If you deliberately do that again Rivan, if you put yourself in any kind of danger…I will tan your ass so bad a feather won't be able to touch it without it hurting." Sam paused for a couple of heart beats. "Have I made myself perfectly clear, Rivan?" he asked, his voice soft and deadly serious.

A shiver ran down my spine in response to his tone, and I closed my eyes at his words and groaned silently. I had been trying to impress him with my words and my total understanding, because I wanted my spanking to end and I had wanted him to know that I truly did understand the world that I was in with him. But in my attempt to do so I had gone and made things worse for myself. If I disobeyed any of his orders from now on to the point of putting myself in danger, I wasn't going to be able to sit for a month. Literally. And that was only if I got real lucky.

I had to swallow a couple of times before I could answer. "Yes sir," I whispered as my tears continued to pour down my cheeks. "You've made yourself very clear. I understand."

For a moment Sam said nothing, and then I heard him sigh. "Good girl," he said, and to my shock he brought that belt of his down across my sit spot one last time. Hard. I jerked at the shock and pain of it, and I let out a devastated cry that led into more sobbing. I stayed where I was as I continued to cry, and seconds later I felt Sam's hand on my back as he rubbed soothing circles into it. As he did he began muttering sweet, comforting words to me.

"Shhh," he murmured quietly to me. "It's all done, baby. We're done. You're forgiven and I still love you. Shhh." He was quiet for a few minutes as I cried, but he never stopped rubbing my back. After several mintues of this he spoke again. "Ready to stand up?" he asked me gently, and I nodded miserably. Very carefully he helped me to my feet, and once there I turned and threw my arms around his neck and buried my face against his chest as the tears kept coming.

"I know, baby girl," he said, his voice tender and loving. He wrapped his arms around me, and then ran one hand up and down my back. He kept that up as he let go of me with his other hand and then I felt him tugging my panties back up.

I pulled away from him quickly and tried to reach down to stop him. "No," I moaned through my sobbing. "Don't please…not up…it hurts!"

"Baby, you have to have these up at least," Sam told me, his voice so soft. "You don't have to put your shorts back on because you're going to bed in a minute anyway, but you have to have these on."

I moaned and laid my cheek on his chest and let him have his way. I do have to say that he pulled the panties up very carefully and was as gentle as he could be. It hardly hurt when the material made contact with my well spanked butt, and once he was done he wrapped his arm around me again and started up the back rubbing once more.

We stayed liked that for quite a while. When my sobbing finally died down and turned into an occasional tiny whimper, Sam patted me on the back. "Here baby, let me get my belt back on," he told me, and I made a face but let him go. I stepped as far away from him as I could while he stood and put his belt back on, and I didn't watch the process. Even though my spanking was done the sound of the belt clinking and being put back into place caused me to shiver and my heart to race.

Finally Sam was done, and then suddenly he moved over to me and scooped me up in his arms, bridal style, and carried me out of the office after hitting the light switch on the wall. I sniffled slightly as I wrapped my arms around his neck and cuddled closer.

As he neared the stairs I reached up and tugged lightly on a strand of his hair. "I don't want to go to bed," I told him in a soft, small voice.

"Why not?" he asked gently as he reached the stairs and started up them.

"It's too early."

"Baby, it's almost midnight," he pointed out as he reached the top of the stairs. He hung a left and started down the hall that led to the rooms, and I groaned and pressed my face against his neck.

"I don't want to go to bed, Sam!" I told him, my voice more persistent. I wasn't being a brat about it, I just didn't want to be made to go into my room and lie in my bed alone in the dark. I wanted to stay in Sam's arms and have him hold me until I fell asleep, and then continue to hold me until I woke up the next morning. I whimpered as tears filled my eyes again and I tugged on Sam's shirt. "I don't want to be alone," I moaned as my voice broke a little.

"Shhh," Sam murmured as he brushed his lips across my temple. "You're not going to be alone. Stop crying, baby," he told me as he reached his room and walked in. He hit the light switch, kicked the door closed, and then carried me over to his bed. The shock of being taken into his room caused my tears to stop, and I looked up at him in surprise.

"I thought we'd share my bed tonight," he told me with a small smile. "We've shared your bed before. It won't hurt to do something different," he added as he placed me gently on his bed. But no matter how gentle he was about it, it still hurt when my sore butt made contact with the mattress. I cried out immediately and flung myself on my stomach, grabbing Sam's pillow as I did. I hid my face in it and didn't look up when Sam patted me on the back. I stayed like that as I listened to Sam move across the room. I heard him open a drawer and rummage through it for a moment, and then I heard him close it. He crossed the room and I peeked out from my mound of pillow as he approached the bed. He had one of his many, long sleeved shirts in his hand and a gentle look on his face.

"I know you like to wear these to sleep in," he said as he held the shirt up. This one was a blue flannel checkered one and it looked soft and comfortable. Carefully I pushed myself up, trying to avoid any more painful contact with the mattress. I wasn't as sore as I was the last time Sam took his belt to me, and for that I was grateful. But I was sore enough that any kind of pressure on my backside was uncomfortable for me. Knowing this, I went ahead and stood up since sitting was not an option at the moment. As soon as I was on my feet I looked down at the little blue t-shirt I was wearing. It was thin and short sleeved, and I debated on taking it off or leaving it on.

"You should probably leave it on," Sam said as I stared down at the little shirt. "It gets kind of cold at night anyway," he added. I looked up at him and he smiled at me before leaning down to gently kiss my lips. We parted sooner than I wanted to, but I said nothing as I reached out to take the shirt from him. He caught my hand and gave it a kiss as he gazed down at me. "I'll help you put it on," he told me quietly, and I gave him a little smile. I got another kiss before he started helping me with the shirt, and soon he was buttoning it up for me. "There," he said when he finished with the last button. "Is that good?"

"Yes sir," I whispered, suddenly feeling shy. I lowered my hands to my sides and allowed the long sleeves to fall down, and they covered my hands completely like they always did. The shirt was as soft as it looked and it smelled like Sam. It was that spicy, musky, out doorsy scent that, to me, was the most wonderful smell in the whole world. I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling very warm and comfortable and very loved.

Sam smiled as he watched me. "Okay, let's get you in bed," he said as he pulled the covers back. It never mattered to him what side of the bed he slept on. I always liked the left side so that's the side Sam picked for me. Once he had the covers ready he stepped back and offered me his hand, which I took. He pulled me toward him slowly and kissed the back of my hand and then my lips before guiding me to the bed. He let my hand go but placed his hand on the small of my back, supporting me as I moved to get into bed.

I went ahead and crawled in on my stomach, because that was how I would have to sleep anyway. Once I was settled Sam pulled the covers over me and stroked my hair before moving away. I turned my head so I could watch him get ready for bed, and my eyes went wide as he peeled his shirt off, exposing an upper body that rippled with strength. I never got over how perfect Sam's body was. I was disappointed when he went into the bathroom to finish getting ready, and I was picking at the thread on his pillow, annoyed that I had to wait, when he finally came back out dressed in a pair of black sweats and a dark red t-shirt.

"Hey, don't pick my pillow apart," he told me with a grin as he moved over to the light switch on the wall.

"You have two," I said, dismissing his concern for the loss of his pillow.

He paused and looked back at me. "Do I detect a hint of sassiness in your voice?" he asked mildly, raising an eyebrow at me.

My eyes went wide and I blushed. "No sir," I said quickly, and I stopped picking at his stupid pillow and pouted ever so slightly.

Another grin teased his lips as he watched me. Without another word he flipped the light switch and sent the room into total darkness. He moved quietly toward the bed and I didn't even realize he was so close until he slid in next to me. As soon as he had the covers over both of his I rolled over on my side and cuddled close to him, throwing my arm around him. He wrapped his arm around me in turn and pulled me closer before dropping a sweet kiss on my neck. It tickled a little and I scrunched my neck up a bit and poked him in lightly in the chest.

"That tickles," I complained as I attempted to cover up a sudden yawn.

"It does, huh?" he asked, and I could hear the wicked tone in his voice. Before I could protest he kissed me again on my neck and then blew on it softly, causing me to squeal and giggle before pinching his arm.

"Don't, you know I don't like to be tickled," I told him, making sure the pout was clear in my own voice even though I was smiling.

"I know," he said casually. "But sometimes it still fun to do it anyway."

"You're mean," I informed him as I buried my face against his chest.

"Yeah, and I can see that you're just so worried about that," he said with a soft snort. I snorted back and he laughed quietly. For a few minutes we were quiet as we held each other in the darkness, and then I spoke. "Sam?"

"Hmmm?"

"How much longer do you think we'll have to stay here?" I asked him softly.

For a moment he didn't respond. "I don't know, baby," he finally said as he reached up to stroke my hair.

"Do you think Castiel will come see us often and tell us what's going?"

Sam snorted again, and this time it was an annoyed snort. "There's no telling with him. I can never guess was Cas might or might not do. I stopped trying a long time ago." He was quiet for a moment. "It's good to develop that habit where he's concerned."

"Oh," I said, and hugged him tighter.

"Try not to worry too much about it," Sam advised me. "You can't change anything. Just relax and go with the flow. You don't need to get all stressed over it, okay?"

"Okay," I said in a tiny voice. "I mean yes sir!" I added quickly, not sure if I was supposed to but deciding I better just in case.

"Good girl," Sam murmured, his voice sleepy yet amused. "Go to sleep now. I know you're tired." He leaned down and kissed me tenderly. "I love you," he whispered into the darkness.

"I love you too," I whispered back, and eager for sleep to pull me down for a few blissful hours, I closed my eyes and held tight to my Sam as I said a silent prayer to God, asking him to take care of us.

For somehow I knew, without a doubt, that the next few weeks were going to be difficult for all of us.

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, well that's it for now. Thank you so much for reading, and as always if you'd like to take a moment to leave a review that would be great! Again I can't say when the next chapter will be up but I will do my best to get it up as soon as I can! Thank you again for all of your prayers and your support. None of it goes unnoticed or unappreciated! :-)**


	14. The Origin Of The Ring

**A/N: Hello again everyone! Here's chapter fourteen for you, and the title says it all. In this chapter you'll learn where the ring came from and how it got its powers. Also as promised you'll see more of Dean being grouchy with Rivan. I know probably most of you aren't real thrilled about that, but like I said it will all be okay soon. I really don't have much to add here in my author's note, but I do want to put in a little reminder for everyone. If you don't like my story, please remember that you don't have to read it. Fanfiction offers a lot of stories that are available to read. Please remember that before you get ugly in a review or a PM. And no, this reminder is not aimed at any of my current reviewers. I just got another side note about my story and I simply wanted to remind everyone that you're not being forced to read this story.**

**Okay, so that's it for now. As usual please forgive any mistakes that you may find while reading. Thank you for your continued interest in my story and thank you for your support. I hope you enjoy the new chapter! :-)**

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><p>I was right about the next few weeks being difficult for everyone. At first it really wasn't too bad. We were all nervous for the most part, and we each attempted to keep ourselves and each other from going crazy. We all seemed to stay together more than usual, and more times than not we would end up in the living room playing card games and even some board games Eden found in one of the bedroom closets. Of course there was reading and watching TV, which helped. We all did okay with this form of living for a while. It really wasn't much different than what we had been doing before.<p>

While this was going on a few new rules had popped up. Sam and Dean had decided that all the window shades on all the windows needed to go down and stay down. Eden and I were not allowed to pull them up and look out the windows and of course unlocking and opening them was a big no-no. We didn't like it but we didn't pitch a fit about it too much because for one thing we knew we'd get in trouble, and for another everyone was stressed already.

Three weeks went by, and things started to change. Everyone's patience was wearing thin. Dean was the worst. He had been stuck in this house for three months already, and now no one knew when we would be able to leave. Dean was not a sit around type of guy. He wanted to be in the middle of the action, to control things and be able to try to fix the problem. He was like a wild tiger captured and forced into captivity, and sometimes he just was not fit to be around.

Even Sam, who was a lot more patient than his brother, was developing a shorter temper. He fought with Dean mostly, who was always demanding that he call this person or that to see if they could be of any help. As Sam pointed out time and time again, each time less calmly than before, there was no one they knew that could help us. Several times Sam and Dean attempted to get Castiel to appear and give them something new on what was going on, but the Angel never showed up. That only made Dean's mood darker.

A few more days passed, and then something else began to happen. I don't know exactly what triggered it, but Dean suddenly began…well to put it bluntly, he started picking on me. I couldn't do anything without him thinking I was trying to sneak out of the house or open a window. At first, in an attempt to keep the peace, when he snapped at me and questioned me about what I was doing I did my best to answer calmly and as nicely as possible. The fact that I really wasn't doing anything wrong helped. Usually when he jumped on me about something we were the only two around, and I figured as long as I was able to handle the problem myself there was no need to go to Sam about it, or tell Eden what was going on. That would only make matters worse. So I continued to suffer in silence and handle Dean's attacks as they came.

But then one day I very nearly got into trouble because of something Dean thought I might have been doing. I was in the living room by myself one afternoon and was looking at the book shelf for a new book, since I had read five already. Sam was in the office on his laptop as usual, and Dean and Eden were upstairs in her room. After a few minutes of looking through the books I finally picked one out, only to promptly drop it by the window that was next to the book shelf. Sighing very loudly and with much disgust, I made a face at the book and knelt down to pick it up. Once I had it I started to get back up and I placed my hand on the window sill to pull myself up. In doing so I caught the edge of the shade and nearly pulled it off the window.

I freaked and dropped the book again and quickly began fixing the window shade, trying to make sure I hadn't broken the stupid thing. I was still doing that when Dean suddenly walked into the room behind me, and when he snarled out my name I jumped so hard I almost toppled over onto the floor. Thankfully I caught myself on the book shelf, and once I was steady I spun around to see Dean standing in the living room door way, his face dark with suspicion and anger.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded as he took a few steps into the living room.

Deciding I had had enough of playing the peaceful role, I shot him a dirty look and bent to pick up my book. "It's called reading," I snapped back at him as I held the book up. "If you tried it sometime maybe you would be able to express yourself with bigger words other than 'damn', 'hell', and 'shit'!" I raised my voice a little on my last few words and surprised myself with how forceful I had sounded.

For a few seconds I could tell Dean was just as surprised as I was, but as I watched nervously his eyes widened with anger. "Don't you get smart with me!" he warned me in a low voice. "And don't you lie to me either! I saw you messing with that window! Were you trying to open it?"

For a moment I had to just stand there and fight the urge to throw my book at his stupid head. "No!" I nearly shrieked at him. "I was not trying to open the window, Dean! I dropped my book and I knelt down to pick it up, and when I got up I put my hand on the window sill to pull myself up, and I accidently caught the corner of the shade and almost pulled it off the window! I was just trying to fix it! I wasn't trying to open anything!"

"Oh yeah?" Dean growled at me as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Then why do you look so damned guilty?"

"I—what—I do not look guilty!" I sputtered as I felt my temper rise.

"Yes you do!" he snapped. "You look guilty and you sound guilty! You were trying to open that window! I wondered when you'd get tired of that new rule and finally snap. Sam's gonna just love this," he added with a roll of his eyes.

My own eyes went so wide they nearly popped out of my head, and I dropped my book for the third time. "_I was not trying to open that window, damn you_!" I screamed at him as I felt stupid tears prick my eyes.

"Hey, watch your mouth!" Dean snarled at the same time Sam suddenly appeared behind him, his eyes wide and confused. Seconds later Eden was right behind him, and she pushed past him to get to Dean and see what had made me scream so loud.

"Rivan, what's wrong?" she asked me sharply. I opened my mouth to answer but Sam cut across me.

"Dean, what the hell is going on in here?" he demanded as he looked from me to Dean.

"I just caught your sweet baby girl trying to open that window," Dean informed him as he turned to look at his brother. "And you were bragging on her just the other day, talkin' about how she was behavin' herself and doin' so good. Hate to tell you this Sam, but she just ruined her good run."

Sam stared at me and I stared back, my mouth hanging open in disbelief. I watched as Sam's face went from confused and shocked to angry and stern. "Rivan…" his voice trailed off and then he took a deep breath. "Damn it Rivan," he said as he reached up to massage his fore head. "Is that true?" he asked me, his voice quiet and intense.

"NO!" I wailed at him, and I was so upset that I forgot to add a 'sir' onto that. "Sam, I didn't! I wasn't…I didn't do it! I was just trying to—"

"Open the window just like you're not supposed to," Dean interrupted.

Furious and panicking, I actually stomped my foot at him and then burst into tears. "I was not trying to open the window!" I howled as I bawled. "Sam please, I swear I wasn't! He didn't even see me do anything but pull on the shade!" I moaned as I glared at Dean.

"You were pulling on the shade?" Sam asked sharply, and I groaned silently. That had not been the best way to say it. "Why were you doing that, Rivan? You're not supposed to go near any of the windows in this house. I thought I made that pretty clear."

Frustrated beyond belief, I let out a scream that startled everyone and I started to sob as I wrapped my arms around myself. "I didn't do it!" I moaned pitifully. "Sam please, I promise you I didn't do it!"

Sam stood there for a moment and looked at me before looking back at Dean. "What did you see her do exactly?" he asked as Eden came to stand beside me and rub my back.

"I walked in and she was pulling at that shade just like she told you she was doing," Dean said with a shrug. "Looked like damning evidence to me," he added.

Sam grimaced. "Did you ask her what she was doing?"

"Sure I did," Dean growled at his brother. "She got smart with me and told me she dropped a book and was picking it up, and that she put her hand on the window sill to pull herself up. She said when she did that she caught the shade and messed it up and she was just tryin' to fix it," Dean finished, and his dry tone made it very clear just how much he believed my story.

Sam took a deep breath and looked back at me. I was still crying hard and wanted to voice my innocence, but I couldn't get any words out around my sobs. "Rivan," Sam said quietly. "Come with me," he ordered, lifting his hand and beckoning me toward him.

My mouth fell open and my heart started to slam a frantic beat in my chest. "Noooooo!" I wailed. "No Sam, I didn't do anything wrong! Sam, please I swear I didn't! I didn't, please don't spank me, I didn't do anything wrong!" Next to me Eden cuddled me close and said something to me, but I didn't catch it. When she spoke again she was talking to Sam, and I caught that.

"Sam, I really don't think she did anything wrong," she told him, her tone pleading. "I just think a mistake was made. Dean's kind of being a jerk right now so he jumps on anything and everything and I think he's got this all wrong."

"Hey!" Dean snapped at her. "I'm not being a jerk! I saw what I saw!"

"Yeah well, you saw wrong, you idiot!" Eden yelled at him, and Dean's eyes went wide and he started toward her.

"Okay, enough!" Sam said loudly, making me and Eden jump and Dean stop to look at him. "Everyone just stop. Rivan, come here. Eden, stay out of it," he added very sharply when Eden started to protest. "I'm not an ass. I'll listen to what she has to say," he told her as he walked over to us to get me, since I still hadn't moved. Reluctantly Eden let me go and Sam took my hand, and his grip was gentle though his eyes were determined. I cried all the way out of the living room as Sam led me out, and I cried as we walked to the office. I was sure Dean and Eden were having some kind of argument back in the living room but I couldn't worry about that. I was too upset over the idea that I may end up getting a spanking for something I truly didn't do.

We reached the office and went in, and my crying intensified as Sam closed the door. As soon as it was closed he surprised me by turning to me and gathering me in his arms. "You need to calm down," he told me as I hid my face against his chest while trying to choke out an explanation. "Rivan, if you're going to talk to me and explain what happened I need to be able to understand you, baby. Right now I can't," he added as he ran one hand up and down my back. "Come on now, take deep breaths," he encouraged, and after a few moments I began to do as he said, taking deep breaths and trying to get myself under control.

"There you go," Sam said as my crying died down. "That's it. Come on, come sit on the couch with me," he told me as he took my hand. I let him lead me over to the leather couch and he sat down, but before I could make my move to sit beside him he pulled me down to sit on his lap.

Immediately I laid my head on his chest and he gave me a gentle squeeze. "I didn't do it, Sam," I whimpered out, and even I had to admit I sounded pitiful.

He sighed softly. "Tell me what happened," he said as he began to stroke my hair. "I want to hear your side of it." After a few more moments of sniffles and two attempts at starting out but failing, I finally was able to tell him everything that had happened.

As I talked I wondered if I should tell him about how Dean's tendency to be hard on me had gotten worse over the last few days. And then as I thought about it I realized that Dean had always kind of been grouchy with me, even back when I first started to travel with him and Sam. But it had started to get worse, and it began that day I'd asked him to go get my little pink bag out of the Impala. He had been mean to me then, though he had apologized for it later. But now he was even worse, and I had no idea why. But by the time I was done telling Sam about what had just happened I had decided not to tell him anything else. It would do nothing but cause more drama and I had more than enough to deal with already. I didn't need to add to it.

Sam didn't say anything for a few minutes once I had stopped talking. His silence was just starting to make me nervous when finally he spoke. "Rivan," he said quietly, gently. "Look at me, baby." Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself up and slowly looked up at him. He cupped my face between his strong hands and wiped a few of my remaining tears away with his thumbs as he studied me. "Okay," he began as he looked me in the eye. "I'm gonna ask you again, and I want you to look me right in the eye and answer honestly."

Of course I knew why. We were back again to the simple fact that I could not look Sam in the eye and lie to him. I have never been able to do it. He had caught me in a lie more than once simply by looking at me and seeing the lie in my eyes.

So I looked at him, and I kept my eyes firmly on his. We sat like that for a few seconds, and then Sam spoke. "Were you really trying to open that window, Rivan?" he asked, his tone very soft but very intense.

"No sir," I said, and I used my firmest tone possible and then held my breath. If he didn't believe me…if he spanked me for something I really didn't do, I'd be heartbroken.

But I was stupid to worry. As soon as I answered Sam's face relaxed, and he smiled gently and kissed me ever so softly. "Okay," he said, and he sounded just as relieved as I felt. "Good. I believe you. And it was a good call tacking on the 'sir' there," he added as I slumped against his chest. "Especially since you didn't do it earlier in the living room."

I cringed a little. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I was just so upset. I didn't mean to forget," I told him, wondering if I was going to get spanked anyway. He had said he would if I forgot to answer him with a 'yes sir' or a 'no sir.'

"I know," he said as he began to rub my back. "I'll let it go this one time. But don't do it again. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," I quickly assured him, and he hugged me.

"Good," he said with a slightly tired sigh. "I think you should stay in here with me until it's time for dinner," he added as he glanced on the clock on the wall. "That way you won't have to worry about stepping on Dean's toes. We all know how frustrated he is right now," Sam added with a roll of his eyes.

I smiled a little as I cuddled closer to him. "Yes sir."

"And from now on just stay away from all of the windows, okay? You're supposed to anyway, but don't go near them for any reason, even if it's an innocent one. That way there's no way of risking some kind of problem. Okay?"

"Yes sir," I said with a small sigh, and Sam dropped a kiss on the top of my head and gave me another soft squeeze. For a while after that he stayed there on the couch and held me. After a while I got up so he could go get my book for me, and I read while he searched several different articles on his laptop. We did that until it was time for dinner, which turned out to be a quiet and uncomfortable affair.

After that things settled down a little and we got back to worrying about the situation with the vampires. A full month had finally passed us by. We heard often from Bobby, as well as Jo and Ellen. But that was it. The one we needed to hear most from remained absent. I got to where I started praying at night and in the morning when I woke up, pleading with God to send Castiel to us, or to give us some other sign of what was going on. We were desperate. Surely God knew that? If he did, he apparently didn't think we needed an update. Another week went by, and I began to notice that our supplies were running low. There wasn't much food left in the refrigerator or in the cabinets. I mentioned it to Sam one night after dinner, while we were all sitting in the living room together.

Dean and Eden had one couch to themselves, and Dean was sitting in the middle of it looking lost in dark thoughts while Eden lounged across his lap, her head resting on one of the little decorative pillows the couches boasted. Despite Dean's dark look he was gently stroking Eden's hair, but when I mentioned our lack of food he paused and glanced at me, as did Eden.

"I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but we're kind of running low on food," I said to no one in particular.

"Yeah I noticed that too," Sam said with a tired sigh. "Someone's going to have to go out tomorrow and pick some stuff up."

Instantly I brightened. "Why don't we all go?" I asked, the idea sounding wonderful. "We could all use some time away from the house."

"No," Sam said with a shake of his head. "Only one of us should go. And by one of us I mean me or Dean," he added quickly. "I don't want you or Eden out alone, and I don't want you two to stay here alone."

"But Sam," I moaned, terribly disappointed. "We're going nuts in here! All of us! I don't see how it will hurt if we all four go."

"Sorry Rivan, but it's not going to happen," he told me firmly. "It's too dangerous for you outside this house. You both need to stay here, and someone needs to stay with you and watch over you and Eden."

Over on the other couch Eden snorted. "We're not children," she said, her tone sulky as she rolled over in Dean's lap, ending up on her stomach so she could better skewer Sam with a nasty look "We don't need babysitters."

"Sure you do," Dean growled at her, and as I studied the position Eden was now in I had to wonder if she had just lost her mind. Rolling over on her stomach, across Dean's lap, left her wide open to an attack on her butt. "You've both proven that over and over again," Dean continued. "Sam, I've always hated shopping of any kind, so you can go. I'll stay here and watch the girls."

"Oh goody," Eden grumbled as she dropped her head on the couch. "We get to spend the day with Mr. Grouchy." Despite Sam's shorter temper, he was usually better to be around than Dean was these days.

"Yeah that's right!" Dean snarled at her, and she jumped. "And if you don't watch your mouth you'll be spending the day across Mr. Grouchy's lap, gettin' you ass blistered!" Before I could blink Dean brought one strong hand down across Eden's butt, and the smack was a solid one that seemed to echo around the room. Eden jumped about a smile and then let out a yowl as she attempted to push herself off his lap, but Dean got another smack in before she could push herself onto her knees. Once she had she sat there and stared at him with wide eyes, and he glared back at her.

"You better think hard about what you're gonna say before you say it!" he warned her when her mouth flew open. "I'm not gonna put up with your attitude. You understand me, sweetheart?"

From where I was sitting I could see tears fill Eden's eyes, but she lifted her chin and looked at him. "Yes sir," she said clearly but softly.

"Good! Now go to bed!" Dean ordered her, waving his hand toward the stairs.

Eden's mouth dropped open. "But Dean! It's only eight o' clock!"

He looked back at her and leaned toward her, his eyes shooting sparks. "Are you arguing with me?" he demanded sharply.

"No sir," Eden recoiled quickly, some of the color draining from her face. "I was just making an observation."

"Good. Now let me "observe" you getting' up and doin' what I told you to do, before I take you upstairs myself and observe how red I can make your ass!"

I cringed as I watched Eden's lower lip tremble, and she sniffled. "Yes sir," she whispered, and without saying anything else she got up and ran out of the room. As I listened to her climbing the stairs I could hear her crying.

Okay, now I was just pissed. "Why did you have to talk so mean to her like that and spank her?" I demanded, glaring at Dean. "Just because you're stuck in this house doesn't give you the right to jump on everyone!"

"Enough!" Sam intervened when Dean shot to his feet, his eyes full of dark storm clouds. Sam eyed his brother for a moment, and then sighed. "Rivan, it's time for you to go to bed too," he told me, shooting me a dark look of his own before looking back at Dean.

My mouth fell open. "What? Why? I didn't do anything!" Ignoring Dean, who looked like a tornado about to go on the war path, Sam turned to me, his eyes bright with his own growing anger. That was all I needed. Fighting back the desire to swear, a lot, I scrambled off of the couch and hurried out of the room and up the stairs. Once in my room, I didn't bother to change clothes. I just threw myself across my bed and stayed there, trying to calm myself.

I had a rough night. I faded in and out of sleep throughout the night, not falling into an undisturbed sleep until about five in the morning. When I woke hours later it was after ten, and I leapt out of bed. Sometimes, with all the shades pulled down on the three windows in my room, I tended to sleep later than usual because the sun was never allowed to shine into my room and wake me up with its light. Sometimes that annoyed me, and sometimes it didn't. Groaning, I forced myself to gather what I needed for my shower and got cleaned up. When I was done I left the room and went downstairs, where I found Eden sitting on the couch in the living room. She looked a bit upset, and I hurried to her.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I sat down beside her.

She looked at me and smiled, though it was forced. "Nothing really," she told me. "Just…well, Dean and I had an argument a while ago."

"Another one?" I asked sympathetically.

She nodded and sighed. "Yeah."

"About what?"

"Oh, it doesn't matter. I don't want to talk about it, if that's okay," she said softly, lifting her eyes and pleading with them silently.

"Well…okay. If that's what you want. But…did you get into trouble again?"

"No, not really. Come on, let's go into the kitchen. I made muffins. I already ate, but I'll talk to you while you eat your breakfast." Still worried but not wanting to push her, I followed her into the kitchen, and we talked while I ate.

"So where is Dean anyway?" I asked during a lull in conversation.

Eden made a face. "In the office. I don't know what he's doing in there. It's not like he's going to do any research on Sam's laptop."

"I doubt it. Has Sam left already?"

"Oh yeah, he left to go to the store around nine. He said he might be gone for a while."

I sighed. "I wish we could have gone with him. I'm going crazy sitting in this house all the time."

"Yeah, I know. It's taking its toll on everyone," she added, and I knew she was thinking about Dean.

"Well, let's get this mess cleaned up and see if we can find a good movie on the TV," I suggested. The idea didn't seem to thrill Eden as much as I hoped, but I couldn't blame her. Still, she helped me clean up the stuff from breakfast, and we went back into the living room. Soon we were watching some TV movie about a woman meeting a man that had been devastated by the loss of his entire family when their home had caught on fire. The man had been alone for years and now he was stepping out again, ready to live. It was funny and sweet, and very touching at some points, and by the time it was over both Eden and I felt better. After that we talked for a while, and once our conversation had faded off we both entertained ourselves with a book.

After a while I was so into the book I was reading that I didn't even notice that Eden had gotten up from the couch and had wandered over to the other side of the room, near a window. I was still deep into the book when a sudden bellow jerked me back to a harsh reality.

"_**EDEN**_!" Dean roared from the doorway of the living room. I jerked so violently I almost fell off the couch. Bug eyed, I whirled around to find Eden and saw her standing in front of one of the windows, the shade all the way up. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Dean snarled, moving across the room toward Eden. "This is the second time I've caught you at that damn window! What the _hell_ is wrong with you?" In a few strides he reached her and all I could do was watch with wide eyes as he got a firm grip on her upper arm, marched her over to the nearest chair, sat down, pulled her down across his lap, and started to spank her hard and fast.

"I should have done this the first time I caught you at that window!" he said as his hand continued to rise and fall while poor Eden howled and shrieked. "I don't know what I was thinking! I don't know what _you _were thinking!" Dean swore as he smacked Eden a few more times before stopping. He pulled her off his lap and stood up, keeping a firm grip on her arm as he glared down at her. She was crying of course and Dean caught her chin and forced her to look up at him. "If I see you anywhere near that window again, or any other window, I promise you I will take you upstairs and reacquaint your ass with my belt!" he told her as she continued to cry. "Am I making myself perfectly clear, Eden?"

"Yes!" she moaned, crying harder.

"What did you just say to me, sweetheart?" Dean asked her, now in a low, deadly tone.

Eden realized her mistake immediately. "Yes sir!" she wailed. "I meant to say…I'm sorry, yes sir, I understand!"

"Good! Now go to your room and stay there for a while! I swear, I ought to—_what the freaking hell_, _Rivan_?" he suddenly snarled as he whirled around to face me, for I had snapped out of my state of shock and had just tossed my book at him and hit him right in the back of his stubborn head.

"YOU'RE BEING A PURE ASSHOLE, DEAN WINCHESTER!" I shrieked at him. "YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO YELL AT HER LIKE THAT! AND YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO SPANK HER! WE ARE ALL STRESSED HERE AND WE'RE ALL SCARED, JUST LIKE YOU! IT DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO BE SUCH A MEAN DICK HEADED BASTARD!"

"Rivan, no!" Eden wailed, but of course it was too late.

"You know what?" Dean roared at me as he started toward me, jabbing his finger at me. "Don't _even_ get me started on you! Sam let's you get away with way too much! If you were mine I'd whip your ass every single day until the message sunk in! And you know what else? We wouldn't even be in this situation if you hadn't run off and got caught by those damn vampires! So technically this is all _your _fault, isn't it? We're all in this damn mess because of _you_!"

He opened his mouth to bellow at me some more, but suddenly I had left the couch. I charged toward him, and as soon as I reached him my hand flew. I cracked him right across his face, and the sound of skin hitting skin seemed to echo around the room. I smacked him as hard as I possibly could, causing the palm of my hand to instantly turn red. Eden let out a shocked, horrified shriek, and for a moment all was quiet. I watched as a perfect, bright red hand print took form on Dean's face. I stood there staring at him defiantly, and he was still as he stared back. Then he spoke in a tone that caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand straight up. Sam had used such a tone with me before, and I had to admit his was worse. But Dean's was bad enough.

"Oh hell no, that is it!" he growled. "I don't give a damn what Sam says. I am going to tan your hide, right here and now!" And then to my complete horror he began to unbuckle his belt. Eden yelled at him, and while she did I turned and hauled ass. For some stupid reason I went into the kitchen. I stood there for a moment, looking frantically around, and then I turned as Dean came storming in. His belt was off and in his hand, and my heart jumped into my throat.

Over on the counter I saw a cup of coffee, steam still rising from it. Desperate, I snatched it up and without pausing I turned and tossed the hot liquid at Dean. It splattered across his dark gray shirt and he froze, his eyes huge as a look of pain and total rage flashed across his face. At that second I heard the front door open, and then I heard Sam's voice. "Dean!" he called. "Come and help me carry all this crap in, will you?" Letting out a whimper of relief, I shoved passed a still shocked Dean and flat out ran to the entry hall, crying the whole way.

"Saaaaam!" I howled, rounding the corner.

Sam's eyes went wide when he saw me, and he put the two bags he'd been holding on the little table by the door. "Rivan! Baby, what's wrong? What is it?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!" I moaned, and when I reached him I jumped right into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. I buried my face into the crook between his neck and shoulder and sobbed into it.

He caught me quickly and easily, one strong arm supporting my butt while his other arm wrapped around me, his hand coming to rest at the back of my head. "Hey, hey," he soothed as I continued to sob. "It's okay, calm down. What happened?"

"Don't you be nice to her!" I heard Dean snap from behind me, and I cringed and pushed my face further against Sam's neck.

"What the hell is going on, Dean?" Sam demanded. "And why do you have your belt off?"

"Because that damn little brat of yours just threw a book at me, slapped the shit out of me and threw hot coffee all over me! Look! Look at my shirt!"

"What? Why did she—Rivan, why did you do that?" Sam asked, sounding shocked.

I moved my face a little so I could talk without my voice sounding muffled. "Because he was being mean!" I cried out. "He yelled real badly at Eden and then he spanked her! I told him what a jerk he was being and—"

"Actually she told me what a mean, dick headed bastard I was," Dean interrupted.

I started to cry harder as Sam sighed and swore quietly. "But he _was_ being what I said he was being, Sam!" I whimpered. "He was being too hard on Eden and—"

"The hell I was!" Dean half roared. "She went and pulled up one of the shades on a window, after I caught her once and told her not to do it again! She knew better!"

"But what difference does it make?" I wanted to know. "All she wanted to do was look out the window! Why can't she just—"

"It makes a lot of difference!" Dean cut me off again. "We still don't know everything that's going on out there and—"

"Okay, you know what?" Sam interrupted this time, loudly. "Why don't you both just shut up for a minute? Dean, grab those two bags," he ordered as he started forward, carrying me in his arms. "Bring them into the kitchen. There's still more out in the car. And put your belt back on, man. You're not spanking Rivan. It's that simple."

"Fine!" Dean shouted after him, and I could hear him putting the belt back on. "But you damn well better do it!"

Sam didn't answer as he carried me into the kitchen. Without saying a word he walked over to the nearest counter and carefully placed me on it. Then just as quietly he opened one of the cabinets, pulled out a roll of thick paper towels, and pulled several from the roll. Then he ran them under the cold water at the sink and moved back over to me. Very carefully and very gently he began to wipe my face, removing the tears and pressing the cool paper towel to my flushed skin.

"Shhh," he murmured as he tenderly wiped my eyes. "You need to calm down, Rivan. You're getting yourself way too upset. Come on, calm down," he said, stopping and dropping a kiss on my lips.

"Ah hell no!" Dean's voice came from the doorway. I looked over Sam's shoulder to see him standing there with both bags in his arms. Behind him Eden appeared and looked around him at me, her face full of worry. "I can't believe it!" Dean continued. "You're in here _kissing_ her? After what she just pulled? Give me a break, Sam! You should already have her bent over the counter beating her ass with a wooden spoon or something!"

"Dean, shut up," Sam told him, sounding tired and exasperated. "Just put those bags over here, would you?" he added, pointing to the spot on the sink beside him. Dean swore and did so, slamming them down harder than necessary.

"I hope nothing in there was breakable," Sam said mildly, rising his eyebrows at his brother.

"Yeah me too," Dean snapped back. "What a tragedy that would be. Eden!" he suddenly barked, finally noticing her. "What're you doing in here? I told you to go upstairs to your room!"

"I just wanted to check on Rivan," she told him softly.

"Fine, you've checked on her. She's doin' just great. Getting ready to get away with yet another temper tantrum. Now go upstairs and stay in your room until I tell you otherwise!" For a moment Eden looked like she might actually argue with him, but thankfully she thought better of it. Flashing me one more look of concern, she turned and left.

"Dean," Sam said as soon as she was gone. "Would you go get the rest of the bags and bring them in while I start putting stuff away?" he asked as he leaned against the counter, watching me. For a moment Dean said nothing, and then he swore and stomped out of the kitchen. When he was gone Sam turned to the two bags on the other side of the counter and began taking the stuff out of them. For the next few minutes I stayed where I was and watched as Dean hauled all the bags in and Sam put the food away. Finally Dean was done bringing in the bags and he stood in the middle of the kitchen glaring at me and looking expectantly at Sam.

"Give us a few minutes," Sam told him as he glanced at him. "I want to talk to her alone."

Dean's jaw clenched. "Fine. But this time don't do a lot of talking." With that he turned and stormed out of the kitchen. I heard him go into the living room, and then heard him stomp his way up the stairs. I hoped for Eden's sake that he was going into his room and not hers.

We heard a door slam, and then Sam sighed and turned back to me. "Okay," he said, and I could tell the calmness in his voice was a bit forced. "Let's hear it," he ordered, folding his arms over his chest and leaning a hip against the counter.

To me he looked very intimidating and not at all like the gentle Sam of only a few minutes ago who had wiped my face free of tears. I bit my lip for a moment, swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and began. "Well, it's like I said. Dean was being way too hard on Eden. She had pulled up one of the shades on the window and—"

"Which was something that she already knew she was not supposed to do," Sam interrupted me. "And she had already been caught doing it once. Dean said that was the second time he caught her doing it."

"Well yes but—I mean yes sir!" I added quickly when Sam raised one eyebrow at me. I flinched but continued. "But anyway apparently that was the second time this morning that he caught her doing that but—"

"So he had a right to be a bit hard on her," Sam cut me off again.

"Maybe but…it's real hard for her, and me, to follow that rule! We are completely shut in! Before when we couldn't go outside we at least had the windows to look out! Now we can't see anything but the inside of this house and it's killing us! It's a mean rule to make us follow!" I added, my temper flaring.

Suddenly an awful silence dominated the kitchen, and then Sam took a deep, deep breath. "Rivan," he began, and I could tell he was holding on to his temper for dear life. "Do you think Dean and I make these rules because we're the kind of assholes who enjoy making people we love miserable? Do you think we're like that?" he asked quietly, his voice so cold it could turn a raging fire into solid ice.

I blinked and swallowed hard, recoiling slightly. "Well I..." My voice faded away, and then I sighed. "No sir," I finally answered in a soft voice. "I don't think that at all."

"Good, because we didn't make that rule because we felt like being mean. You and I have been over this more than once. I'm getting real tired of repeating myself, Rivan. You and Eden should know that Dean and I know what we're doing and that we have reasons, very good reasons, for rules like that. You definitely should know that, Rivan. I've told you that before. _Several times_. We went over this the last time you got in trouble. Have you forgotten everything I said since then?" he demanded, still in that icy tone.

I whimpered a little and squirmed under his lethal stare. "No sir," I told him as I felt tears coming on.

He raised his eye brows at me, disbelief and irritation showing clearly on his handsome face. "You sure about that? Because you definitely act like you don't remember."

I cringed and looked away, unable to hold his gaze. "I didn't forget," I said as I stared at the kitchen floor. Sam was quiet for a few moments and then he spoke.

"Well I'm still not sure about that, but let's get back to the whole window deal. There is no telling what's out there watching us, Rivan. We already know there are demons out there. There could be other things too. And there probably is. We don't want to make it easy for any of these things. Keeping you and Eden in this house and completely out of sight not only keeps you both safe, but it keeps them from knowing or seeing more than we want them to. I shouldn't have to explain this to you, Rivan. After being with us for two years you know damn good and well how we operate."

He fell silent then, and it was all I could do not to hop off the counter and go find some dark hole to crawl into. I felt stupid and childish, as well as thoughtless. I hated it when Sam was right in this kind of situation. It wasn't fair. Feeling embarrassed and small now, I crossed my arms over my chest and bit down on my lower lip, staring at the floor as I did so.

Sam allowed the pointed silence to hang between us for a few more moments, and then he spoke. "So now that I've explained why we didn't want the window shades open, I want you to tell me what else happened this morning while I was gone."

Almost instantly my fighting spirit flared back to life, and my head snapped up and I glared at him. "I was _trying_ to but you kept interrupting me!" I growled at him, having a brief and stupid moment of defiance. Sam narrowed his eyes at me and I jumped. "Sir!" I added hastily, cringing away from him a little.

He stared at me for what felt like a very long time, and then finally he took a deep breath and spoke in a quiet, intense tone. "Tell me what else happened," he said again, apparently deciding to let my defiance go for the moment.

"Um, w-well I, uh…" I stuttered, trying to get back on track. I stopped and took a deep breath of my own. "Yeah, okay. Damn, I mean yes sir. Well anyway, Dean caught her at the window and she had the shade pulled up, and he jumped all over her about it and then spanked her real hard. And then he told her if he caught her doing it again that he'd take her upstairs and take his belt to her. It just seemed way too harsh, Sam. Eden's already upset over what's going on, just like everyone else, so she's a little more sensitive. And you know Dean has been exploding over the smallest things these last few weeks."

"Disobeying a rule, especially one that was made to protect you and Eden, is not a small thing, Rivan. It's a very serious thing."

I groaned. "I know!" I said, and sensing that I was losing this argument my voice took on a frantic tone. "But Sam, it just really seemed like he was just way too harsh! I just don't think he should have yelled at her the way he did, and I don't think he should have spanked her! If you had been here to see it and hear it you would know what I mean!"

Sam pressed his lips together and shook his head. "Dean is my brother, Rivan. I know exactly what he sounds like and looks like when he's real pissed off. I don't have to be here to know what it sounded like or looked like. I can imagine it well."

"Well then!" I cried out, holding up my hands in a helpless gesture.

Now he raised just one eyebrow at me. "Well then what?"

I swear I could have gotten off that counter at that moment and slapped the crap out of that man, just like I had done to Dean. But thankfully I had the sense not to. "Well then you should understand why I got so mad!"

"I do understand why you got mad," Sam told me, which surprised me. "Eden is your best friend, more like your sister as you always say, and you're protective of her and you're always on her side, no matter what. Even if she's done something wrong. It's just like when you lied a few weeks ago to protect her. It's understandable, but like I told you then, when Eden gets herself in trouble I expect you to stay out of it. Didn't I say that to you?"

I opened my mouth, stared at him, closed my mouth, and then whimpered. "Yes sir, you did but—"

"But nothing," Sam cut me off sharply. "Now, continuing with your story. Dean yelled at Eden and spanked her, which made you mad and then…is that when you slapped him?"

My shoulders slumped and I heaved a big sigh. "No sir. He told Eden to go upstairs, and that was when I…when I threw my book at him. And it hit him in the back of the head," I added in a small voice as Sam stood there and gazed at me with hard, darkening eyes.

"And then you slapped him?"

"No sir. He...well he said some stuff that made me really mad and upset me so I…that's when I slapped him."

Sam frowned. "He said some stuff? What kind of stuff?"

I shrugged as I looked down at my hands. "Nothing real important," I muttered.

It was not a good answer. Suddenly I heard movement and I looked up, my heart beating double time. I watched with growing dread as Sam moved quickly to stand directly in front of me. His eyes flashing with a quiet, unnerving anger, he leaned toward me, bracing his hands on the counter on either side of me, trapping me there. Wide eyed and shaking, I leaned back until my head bumped softly against the cabinet behind me, and I felt my lower lip tremble. Sam stood there and stared directly into my eyes, not moving a muscle.

"I asked you a question, Rivan," he said very quietly and very softly. "When I ask you a question I want an answer. A real answer. Do you understand me?"

It took me a few moments before I could be sure I could speak properly. "Yes s-sir," I whispered, the words coming out shaky and jerky any way.

"Good. Then I'll ask you again. What did Dean say to you? No, you're to look at me when you're talking to me," he added when I looked away, and I jumped and brought my eyes back to his.

"He said…he said that all of this…was my fault," I whispered, keeping my eyes on him, though it was hard. "He said I'm the reason why we're stuck in this house, because I ran off and got caught by the vampires. That's why I slapped him." And then I gave a great big sniff, and I started to cry.

Sam was quiet for a few moments, and I watched as he pressed his lips into a thin line, an indication that he was pissed but trying to control it. I started to cry harder, figuring that he was pissed that I had slapped Dean. But then what he said next shocked me so much it slowed my tears down.

"He shouldn't have said that to you," he told me firmly. "It's not true. _That_ right there was harsh and uncalled for. Even if you did throw a book at him and slap him. I'm sorry he said it, Rivan. It is _not _true. Do you hear me? It's not. Something like this was bound to happen, whether you'd been caught or not. Dean should realize that. He probably does, but was just so frustrated by the situation and so pissed he didn't care what he said. Like I said, I know my brother well. Don't think anymore about it, okay? I don't want you to worry about this being your fault. It's not. Do you understand?"

I sniffled and nodded, feeling myself relax a little as that burden was lifted from me. "Yes sir."

Sam took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them and looked at me. "Okay. So you slapped him after he said that. What happened next?"

"Well he got real mad of course and he…said he was going to tan my hide and didn't care what you said about it. And then he started to take his belt off and I ran into the kitchen. He came in after me and I saw the cup of coffee on the counter and he had his belt in his hand and I panicked and grabbed the cup and slung the coffee on him. That's when you came in and I ran out of the kitchen and to you," I concluded, looking up at him with nervous, watery eyes.

For several long moments Sam just stood there staring at me, tapping one long finger on the counter top. Then he took another deep breath. "Okay. Number one. When he yelled at Eden and spanked her for opening the shade, you should have stayed out of it, like I told you to do whenever that situation came around. Eden deliberately broke one of our most important rules, not once but twice, and she deserved to be spanked. Dean was being nice by not spanking her the first time he caught her doing that. Especially considering the fact that he's been nothing but a grouch for weeks now. But moving on. Number two. You shouldn't have thrown your book at him. No matter how pissed Dean gets, or how badly he yells, he would _never_ seriously hurt Eden. You know that and I definitely know that."

He paused for a moment and sighed before continuing. "Number three. Though I know what Dean said to you was terrible, you shouldn't have slapped him. At that point you should have gotten up and gone to your room or some other part of the house and left things alone. The situation was already bad enough, but you had to go make it worse. Which leads me to number four. Throwing hot coffee on him? Come on, Rivan. You could have gotten him in the face with it, and it could have left some bad burns. You're just damn lucky that the shirt he has on is thick enough to protect him from burns on his chest."

"But Sam!" I half whined, half moaned. "He had his belt off and was going to spank me with it! I was trying to stop him!"

"By throwing scalding coffee on him? Not a good way to try to stop him, Rivan."

"But I didn't know what else to do! I didn't want him to spank me!"

Sam sighed. "I think in the end he wouldn't have. Dean can come to his senses pretty quick, even when he's real pissed."

"Well it sure didn't look like it from where I was standing!" I protested a bit too loudly.

"In a way I can't blame him at that point," Sam told me sharply. "You had called him a…what was it that he said? Oh yeah, a mean, dick headed bastard, and then you threw a book at him, and then you slapped him. What were you thinking? You knew how easy it was to set him off, and he was already pissed because of Eden! It was like poking a tiger with a sharp stick."

I flinched at the reminder that I had called Dean names and then cringed at everything else Sam said. "I'm sorry!" I wailed, not knowing what else to say at that point.

"Yeah well, sorry doesn't change anything, does it? And it all comes down to you. You shouldn't have started anything with him, Rivan. You should have kept your mouth shut and your head down and it would have blown over in the end. We're all stressed, just like you said. You shouldn't have made things worse like you did. But you did and you caused a big mess!"

I moaned and covered my face with my hands. "I'm sorry!" I said again, my words muffled behind my hands.

"Like I said, sorry doesn't change anything and it's not going to cut it. You screwed up big time and you're gonna get spanked for what you did, Rivan."

My hands dropped from my face and I stared at him in horror. "No!" I cried out. "No Sam, please, it isn't all my fault!"

"Yes Rivan, it actually is. You called Dean names when you knew you weren't supposed to, you threw a book at him, you slapped him, and you tossed hot coffee on him! I can't let this go, Rivan. I can't let you off with nothing but a forced apology to Dean. Even if I added room restriction to that it still wouldn't work. You earned a spanking, you _need _a spanking, and you _are_ going to get it." Before I could wail out another protest Sam picked me up off the counter and plunked me down on my feet.

"Help me put the rest of this stuff away," he told me, indicating the few bags of groceries that were still full. For a moment I didn't move, and then fighting back a whimper I went to the nearest bag and began to unload it. I tried to be as slow as I could, because of course I knew I was going to get spanked as soon as we were done. Unfortunately you can only go so slow when unloading and putting away a few bags of groceries, and before I knew it we were done. Trembling, I stood there with my arms wrapped around myself, waiting to see what would happen next.

Sam glanced at me and then turned to take a glass out of one of the cabinets. "Go to your room," he ordered quietly. "I'll be up there in a little while to deal with you."

To deal with me? Ugh, those had to be the four worst words in existence! Feeling a sob coming on, I turned and ran out of the kitchen. I hurried into the living room with my head down, and because of that I completely missed the fact that I wasn't alone in the room. I found out real quick though when I slammed into a hard body. I let out a shriek, jumped back, looked up, and let out another shriek, this one fueled more by anger than surprise.

"Why do you always insist upon sneaking up on people like that?" I snarled at the Angel that stood in the middle of the living room watching me with hard, thoughtful eyes. Behind me Sam, who obviously heard me shouting, came running into the room. He came to an abrupt halt when he saw Cas standing there.

"Cas!" he cried out in surprise while I hurried over to him and attached myself to his arm. Before Cas could reply we heard Dean's voice from the top of the stairs.

"What the hell is going on down there?" he demanded. "I thought I heard Rivan scream. Sam, I hope you paddled her ass good!"

"Dean!" I heard Eden shout.

"Hey, did I tell you that you could come out of your room?" Dean snapped back at her. "Get your pretty little ass back in there before I—"

"Enough," Cas suddenly ordered, and though he did not raise his voice in the slightest it seemed that it carried all around the room and up the stairs to Dean and Eden, who fell silent immediately. "I do not have time for your domestic squabbles," Cas continued. "I have news that you all must hear. Rivan especially," he added, and though his gaze was hard I thought I could almost see a trace of pity in them. It scared me more than any glare he'd ever given me.

"Cas?" Dean demanded as he appeared at the top of the stairs and started down them. Eden appeared behind him and followed him, her eyes wide and scared. "When did you get here, Angel boy?" Dean demanded as he came to stand beside Sam and me. Eden joined him and grabbed his hand, and he pulled her close. As he stood there I noticed that he had changed his shirt from the coffee soaked grey one to a clean, dark blue one.

"He just got here," I said in response to Dean's question.

"Well it's about time!" Dean snapped as he let go of Eden and propped his hands on his hips and glared at the Angel. "We've been calling you for weeks!"

"I know," Cas replied, and of course he sounded unconcerned about it. "Sit down, all of you." He waited and for a moment no one moved, and then finally Sam took the lead. Grabbing my hand, he led me to one of the couches and we sat down. Dean and Eden followed, and Eden sat next to me on my right while Dean took the seat next to her on the end of the couch. Then we all looked at Cas and waited.

The Angel did not waste time. "The danger concerning the ring and James has increased," he began solemnly. "He has learned something new about the ring, and so have we. It starts with you," he told me, turning his gaze onto me. Sam, Dean, and Eden looked at me too, and I swallowed hard but kept my eyes on Castiel.

"Okay," I said, trying to be as calm as possible. "What's going on?"

"I must start at the beginning," Cas told me. "And I must be as brief as possible. Several centuries ago, James Talvon met another vampire. A woman. She was fairly new to the vampire world, but she had powers that no other vampire possessed before her. She had been a vampire for one hundred years when she met James, and—"

"One hundred years?" Dean suddenly interrupted. "That's a fairly new vampire?"

Slowly Cas turned to look at him. "Compared to James, yes. At that time James was already five hundred years old. Do not interrupt again," Cas told him, and Dean snorted softly and shrugged. The Angel ignored him. "During her first hundred years as a vampire, this woman devoted every hour of the day and night to witchcraft. She had been studying it when she was human, and had already learned much. After studying it endlessly for one hundred years, she had many powers when she met James. The two fell in love, and the woman taught James everything she knew about witchcraft. He grew powerful as well, but never quite as powerful as his mate. For years they stayed together and then one day she presented him with a ring. After years of trying, she had finally managed to place a spell on this ring." He paused for a moment and looked at me, his eyes hard. I said nothing, just waited. Cas looked away and continued.

"She told him that this ring would give James direct control of the entire human race. All he needed was a simple spell, which he could easily perform, and the blood of the one who made the ring. The woman, of course, would willingly give her blood so that she and her beloved could rule over both the humans and the weaker vampires. She—"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Dean interrupted again, and got a very nasty Angel glare for doing so. "If she made the ring and the spell was simple, and she needed her own blood to make it all work, why didn't she just do it by herself so she could have everything?" Beside me Sam sighed deeply and ran his hand over his eyes.

"Because she was in love, and wanted to share her great power with her mate," Cas told him, and his tone was glacial. I looked down, unable to hide a smile. At least this time it wasn't me who was on the receiving end of the Angel's scary looks.

Dean made a face, but shrugged. "Okay, okay. Fine. I've never heard of a vampire wanting to share that much power, but what do I know?" he muttered, slumping against the back of the couch and putting his arm around Eden.

"Very little," Cas answered, and continued with his story before Dean could say anything back. "On the night they planned to perform the spell in a cemetery near their nesting grounds, a group of vampires that James had trusted attacked them. Because they were in the middle of the ritual, James and the woman were vulnerable. The woman was killed, but James was not, and his wrath was terrible. He killed the vampires that had attacked and killed his mate, and then attempted to finish the spell. But he found he could not. Though he did not know it then, the woman had placed conditions on the ring. If she was ever killed the ring would lose its power. It turned out that she did not fully trust James, and did this as a precaution. She figured that if she died at his hands and could not have the ring's power, then James should not have it either. Though she did not die at his hands the ring was still useless to James, and after that the ring found its way back to the woman's human descendants. She'd had a family before she'd been turned into a vampire, and her blood line had lived on. I do not know how her family got the ring back, but after that James lost track of it, though of course he did not care."

"Time went on, until one day James began to hear whispers among the vampire community. They spoke of the great ring and of the powers that it still held within. Thinking that there still may be hope, James began to look for the ring. He tracked down his mate's blood line, hoping that the ring had stayed within the family. After several years of searching, the trail became cold. The family seemed to have lost the ring. Then," Cas said, and again he looked at me. "The ring once again found its true owner."

A stunned silence filled the room, and I knew everyone was looking at me. I had figured where Cas' story was leading a while ago, obviously, but I had stayed quiet. Though I'm sure the others had figured it out too. "You mean me," I said, even though I knew it was not necessary.

"Yes," Cas said softly. "There was another condition that his mate had placed on the ring. If she died not by his hands but by another's, and James lived and still wanted the power of the ring, he would need one of her descendants. A girl. The first granddaughter born of her blood line after her death would be able to bring life back to the ring, and finish the spell to give James the power to control the entire human race. But through all those years after the woman had died, not one girl was born to her blood line. The ring had been kept in the family, though James could never find it, and had been passed down to the brides of the woman's male descendants. Your father was one of her descendants," Cas told me. "Your mother had you, the first girl born of the blood line. When your mother gave you that ring at the age of eighteen the power was awakened again, and it was so strong that James could easily track it."

Cas paused for a moment and looked away. "As soon as the ring touched your skin he could feel its power," he continued as he slowly looked back at me. "He followed it until he thought he found its source. The car accident that your parents were in…" Cas' voice trailed off for a moment, but in a rush of terrible understanding I knew what was coming. I tried to brace myself but it did me no good.

"It was no accident," the Angel said quietly. "James attacked their car that night while they waited at a stop light. He thought your mother had the ring. Since it had once belonged to her, she carried a trace of its power with her. James was the reason you lost your parents that night," Cas told me, his voice going soft again.

For a moment all I could do was sit there and stare at him. Suddenly I could hear my own blood pulsing in my ears, and my heart began to pound furiously. I swallowed hard and leaned against Sam, who already had his arm around me. I bit down on my lower lip, willing myself not to cry. That…that _monster_, that _thing_ had killed my parents. If I had known that when he had me…if I could have gotten to him…I shuddered suddenly with rage and a grief I had thought I had buried long ago. Sam held me close, and I buried my face against his chest, fighting back the tears.

"Of course James did not find the ring that night," Cas said after several minutes of silence had passed. "But he knew it was out there, and he knew if he found the ring again the power would be his this time."

For a moment no one said anything, and finally I pulled away from Sam a little so I could look at the Angel. "So why didn't he come after me later?" I asked, and I was pleased at how calm I sounded, considering all the turmoil I held inside me. "He could have had the ring a long time ago. Why did he wait so long to make his move?"

"Well," Cas said, frowning. "After you touched the ring for the first time at the age of eighteen and it had that surge of power…it seemed to almost go dormant. The surge of magic disappeared, and James could no longer track it. Until a few years ago, that is," he added. "I do not know why it suddenly became active again."

I was quiet for a few moments as I thought that over. It sounded reasonable enough. "Okay. So I'm guessing he needs my blood to complete the spell, right?" I asked next.

"Yes," Cas told me.

"So then…why did he let me go when he had me?"

"Because he did not know who you were, and at that time he did not know the other condition that his mate had placed on the ring. The power the ring was giving off after you touched it was so strong he believed that all he needed was the ring itself. Never did he think he would need anyone's blood."

Suddenly Dean snorted again. "Well for someone so old, he sure is dumb. You'd think he'd learn a few things after being alive for so long."

"Perhaps," Cas said as his gaze wandered over to Dean. "But I have noticed, during my time of watching humans and other creatures, that no matter how easy knowledge is to posses, there are some that just cannot learn." At this point his gaze fell back on me, and I narrowed my eyes at him slightly.

"Okay, so if James didn't know he needed me and my blood, how did he find out?" I asked, not only out of curiosity but to also avoid getting snippy with the Angel over his insinuation.

"I do not know. But he knows now, and with that knowledge, paired with the fact that the ring he was given is false, you can imagine how furious he is and how very determined he is to find you again."

"Oh yeah, I can imagine," I muttered. "But…what I don't understand is…why would that woman do such a thing to one of her descendants? Set them up like that, put them in so much danger? That's cruel."

"From what I understand," Cas said, and now his tone was very dry. Or to be more accurate, drier than usual. "She considered it an honor to serve James in this way. She felt that any descendant of hers would feel the same way."

"So she assumed, since she was in love with him, that whoever was next in line to take the ring would automatically be happy about what was demanded of her? From a vampire no less?" I asked, outraged. "How could she even think that? Did her family know she was a vampire?"

"No," Cas answered calmly.

"So then why would she think anyone would be happy when they found out about all of this? Her family didn't know anything about her after she apparently ran off and became a vampire. How were they supposed to know the ring was powerful?"

"I do not know for sure," Cas said quietly. "All I can say is that perhaps she believed she would live forever, and maybe one day would share the secret with one of her descendants. But that did not happen, and her family gladly kept the ring because of its monetary value. I believe that is the only reason why they made sure it was kept in the family."

I gave a frustrated sigh, and then a thought I had had earlier surfaced again. "So then…" I paused and swallowed hard. "My mother…didn't know what she was doing, what would happen when she gave me that ring? Or my father? He didn't know?" I asked in a whisper.

"No. Neither one of them had any idea."

My shoulders sagged in relief, though I felt ashamed for believing, even for a moment, that my mother might have given me that ring knowing the pain it would cause me. Or that my father knew and had allowed her to give it to me. But I'd been hit by so many shocks I guess I was trying to prepare myself for yet another one, just in case.

Then something suddenly occurred to me, and I turned to Sam. "That's why James could heal us!" I blurted out, though I knew he would not understand at once.

Sure enough, Sam gave me a confused look. "What?"

"That woman, whoever she was, taught him witchcraft! Remember when I said James ran his hands over my wounds and Eden's, and the bleeding stopped? She showed him how to do that, and who knows what else she taught him!" Not waiting for Sam's reply, I turned back to Cas. "What was her name?" I asked.

For a very long moment Cas said nothing. Then finally he replied. "Lenora," he said. "Her name was Lenora Wales."

"Lenora Wales," I repeated, as though just saying her name would lead me to some new discovery, something that would help us through all of this mess. But nothing came to me, and for several minutes we all just sat there, each lost in our own thoughts.

Finally after a few more minutes Sam broke the silence. He looked at Cas, who was watching me. When Sam looked at him though the Angel shifted his gaze over to him and waited. "Okay, so what do we do now?" Sam asked him. "What's the plan?"

"There is no plan," Cas replied as he stared at Sam. "There is nothing for you to do."

Sam frowned and narrowed his eyes slightly. "So what, we're just supposed to sit around here like we've been doing for the past month?" he demanded as his jaw twitched just a little.

"Yes," Cas told him calmly. At that I looked up at Sam and saw the anger flood his eyes, making them bright and shiver worthy.

"Come on Cas, this is not the time to clam up!" Dean growled at the Angel while Sam wrestled with his anger.

Cas looked at Dean and frowned as he cocked his head to the side. "Clam up? I am not familiar with that term."

"I mean this isn't the time to go silent on us! If you know anything else you need to tell us!"

"I have told you everything that I know, Dean," Cas said with a dark frown.

"Yeah well, I find that hard to believe!" Dean snapped. "I noticed you said 'I don't know' and 'I'm not sure' to a lot of Rivan's questions. Usually when you pull that crap you know more than what you're telling us!"

Cas' eyes turned dark as he stared at Dean. "I have no more information for you," he said in a rather cold tone. "Right now there is nothing for any of you to do. You all need to remain here until further notice."

"You mean until James and his happy band of vampires comes knocking on our door!" Dean snarled as he shot to his feet, his own eyes shooting out sparks.

"That will not happen," Cas replied as he took a step toward Dean, who responded by moving closer as well. I watched nervously, wondering if Dean was entertaining the thought of punching the Angel. Surely not. "God has made sure that James can't find you. Didn't Sam tell you that?"

"Yeah but—"

"Then that is all you need to know," Cas cut him off sharply. "You will all be safe here. I must go." And suddenly, just like that, he was gone.

"_Oh come on_!" Dean roared, causing me and Eden to jump. "_You have got to be kidding me_! _Son of a_—"

Dean stopped in surprise when Cas suddenly reappeared in front of him. We all stared at the Angel. "I have informed Bobby of the situation," he said to Dean, who was standing there with his mouth open. Cas glanced at Sam, who was glaring daggers at him. "Keeping the windows closed and locked with the shades down is a good idea," Cas told him. "Continue doing so." And then he was gone again. Dean got to finish his curse then, and he stormed over to the other couch and gave it a vicious kick, adding a bit more swear words to the mix.

"Dean, calm down," Sam said with a tired sigh as he began to rub my back while I stared off into space.

"Why?" Dean demanded of his brother. "I am _sick_ of him dropping in on us whenever he feels like it and telling us stuff like that and then leaving us with more questions than what we had before he got here!"

"I know Dean," Sam said, barely keeping his tone civil. I looked over at him as he ran his free hand across his eyes. "But we can't do anything about it," he added as he dropped his hand into his lap.

"The hell we can't! I say we leave now and take the girls to Bobby's. He can keep them safe while we hunt this bastard down and take his head off!"

Eden cried out at that, and my eyes went wide as I looked at Sam. My mouth flew open, ready to tell him what I thought about that idea, but suddenly Sam's finger was over my lips, keeping me quiet. "I don't think that's a good idea," Sam told Dean, not looking at me at all.

Dean's eyes flared dangerously. "Why the hell not?"

"Because we can't take him on by ourselves. He's got an army, Dean. Remember?"

"So we make our own army and take them all out," Dean growled in response. "We know a lot of hunters, and most of them owe us."

"Dean, did you miss the part about James having powers?" Sam growled back. Annoyed with the finger that was still across my lips, I pushed Sam's hand away and he looked at me with a frown, which I answered silently with a pout. He sighed and shook his head at me before looking back at his brother.

"Yeah Sam, I got that," Dean was saying in response to Sam's question. "So what? In case you forgot, we fight things with powers all the time."

"Yes, but not until we know exactly what we're dealing with," Sam countered calmly. "We never walk into any fight until we know everything about what we're hunting. Right now we don't know everything about James. All we know is that he's a vampire, an old one, and he wants Rivan to trigger a spell on a ring that will give him control of the entire human race. We also know that he has powers taught to him by a witch centuries ago. He's had all this time to perfect those powers and grow stronger. We don't know everything he can do, Dean. We don't know his limits or his weaknesses."

"We know one," Dean argued back. "Dead man's blood. It'll drop any vamp, Sam. Did you forget about that too?"

"Of course not. But we've never come across a vampire like this. We don't know for sure if we can win with just dead man's blood. What if it doesn't work on him? What if he found a way to make himself immune to it? That's what I'd do if it was me. We can't assume that this vampire is stupid enough not to have tried. He's lasted this long because he's strong and he's smart. We're not ready to take him on yet, Dean. I am not gonna go after him until I know everything I need to know in order to kill this bastard. If we go after him now, even with help, I'm not sure we'll survive. And then what will Rivan and Eden do?" he asked quietly. "With us gone, who would protect them? Who would stop James before he got what he wanted?"

Silence rang throughout the room. I sat there and stared at Sam, and I could feel my heart trying to beat its way out of my chest. To hear him talk about being killed so calmly made me sick to my stomach. But I guess I was being stupid. Sam had been through a lot over the years, and he had seen a lot of death, sometimes even his own, as well as Dean's. Talking about it was no big deal to him. It was second nature. This is who he was, and I loved him no matter what. But it didn't make hearing it any easier. It forced me to remember exactly what kind of world I had stepped into two years ago. It was an ugly world, and nothing could keep that kind of ugliness at bay. Not even love. Not forever, anyway.

And then quite suddenly it was all too much for me to handle. The walls started to close in on me, and I could feel the panic seeping into my bones and even taking control of my very soul. Too much information had been dumped on me. I had learned that my parents had not died in a simple car crash like I had thought. A vampire had murdered them, looking for a ring that would give him control over the entire planet. And that very ring belonged to me, and not only did James want it, but he wanted me and my blood, to complete the spell placed on the ring long ago by a deadly ancestor I hadn't even known I had until now.

As all of this came crashing down in my mind I realized I was about to explode. Tears flooded my eyes and I shot to my feet. I heard three voices call out my name in alarm, and Sam's was the loudest. I ignored them all. And I began to run. I took off like a bat out of hell, taking everyone by surprise. My mad, half blind charge carried me toward the front door. I can remember a searing pain as I ran, one that burned through my chest and crushed my heart. I got closer to the door and I stretched my hand out, ready to grab the door knob and twist it open. I was going to spill out onto the world beyond that door and scream my challenge at anything that was waiting. Somehow, I was going to take them all down. I was going to make them pay for all of the ugliness in this world. I was going to make them pay for the pain they had caused me and those that I loved. And by God, I was going to stop them from taking the man I was so madly in love with. When I was done with these monsters I would never suffer again. No one would.

But I didn't make it to that door knob. Just as I was about to grab it a strong arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me back. I screamed out an order to let me go, but of course he didn't. He wrapped his other arm around me and held me tight, and the next thing I knew we were both on the floor. Sam had his back against the wall and he was holding me in his lap while I fought and screamed. Somewhere close by Dean stood and watched while holding onto to Eden, who was sobbing.

"Let me go!" I screamed at Sam as I sobbed. "Let me go, let me go! I can fight it! Let go! **I can fight it**!" I screamed at the very top of my lungs.

"Not alone," Sam told me softly as he held me close. "You can never fight this kind of thing alone. It took me a long time to learn that. You can't fight it by yourself, baby."

"_**Yes**_…_**I**_…_**can**_!" I gasped. "Let me go, damn you! Just let me go!"

"No," Sam said calmly, quietly. "There's nothing in this world that can ever make me let you go." For a few more minutes I fought like a wild cat, and then finally, completely exhausted, I collapsed against Sam's chest and sobbed without any restraint. Together we sat there on that floor for the longest time.

Sam never once let me go.

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, that's it for now! Kind of a crappy way to end it maybe, but I hope everyone liked it well enough. As usual I can't give you a set date for the next chapter, but as always I will do my best to get it up! As promised, in the next chapter you'll find out why Dean is being so darn grouchy with Rivan, and you'll see the end of the group's vacation time in Maine when James takes the first step toward the final show down between vampires and hunters. Hope that all sounds interesting enough for everyone, and if you have a moment and would like to leave a review please do so! Thanks everyone! :-)**


	15. Leaving Maine

**A/N: Hey again, everyone. So here's the new chapter for you. Sorry it's not quite as long as my last few have been. The next chapter should be longer. Anyway, in this chapter you get what I promised, which is an explanation to Dean's harshness toward Rivan. His reason is not a huge shocker or anything like that, so I hope it doesn't come off as anti climatic. Oh yeah, there was something I realized that I need to point out and apologize for. Since I started this story I've been saying Dean's eyes are blue. I swear I thought they were but every character bio that I've looked at says they're green. I feel so stupid about that. So yeah, I'm sorry about that! Duh me.**

**Oh, another thing I wanted to mention. Here recently I was asked how Rivan's name was pronounced. *Waves at moonlitdreams65* I never thought about explaining that. I don't know why. I guess because of the same reason I thought Dean's eyes were blue. But anyway, in case anyone else has wondered, her name is pronounced almost like "river" but you take the "er" out, and the last part of her name is pronounced like the word "inn." Riv-inn. That gives us Rivan! :-)**

**Okay, so I think that's all I wanted to say for now. Oh, I did want to mention how glad I am that everyone like chapter 14. I was worried about how it all sounded. And I would also like to thank everyone that left a review. They were all so nice and very flattering! It made me so happy! Thanks everyone! And of course I must add my usual stuff. Please forgive any mistakes you may find while reading. Sometimes I'm as blind as they come. But anyway I hope you all enjoy this chapter too! Happy reading!**

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><p>After Cas shared the story of my ancestor and the origin of the ring, things changed. For a while I wandered around the house, depressed, scared, and angry over everything I had learned. Sam noticed my mood shift of course, and did whatever he could to ease my pain and rage. Which meant that nowadays Dean and Eden were likely to find us curled up somewhere together, Sam holding me tight and whispering words of comfort, love and promises of absolute protection. All that good attention helped, and soon I began to feel calmer, despite everything I now knew.<p>

But something else came along with Sam's comforting hugs and tender treatment. Suddenly I was almost above reproach. Things that had before earned me scoldings, room restriction, and spankings seemed not to matter as much anymore. Sam's hand was gentle all the time, no matter what. I first learned this one day when Dean and I were arguing, yet again, about opening one of the window shades. Sam was in the office and Eden was upstairs resting when I decided I wanted the shade open. Dean said no, I snarled at him and he snarled back. It went this way for a few minutes and finally I lost my temper and called him a dickhead. He promptly went and told Sam while I sat in the living room seething and sniffling. Dean came back only minutes later, looking smug and superior as he flopped down on the couch across from me.

"Sam wants to see you," he told me, his tone cheerful and worthy of a violent reaction. I didn't give one though. I didn't even give him a dirty look as I got up and started off. But as I was leaving the living room Dean added in the most annoying tone possible, "You gotta go to the principal's office! Ha! Someone's gettin' a spankin'!"

That was really all I could take of Dean's treatment of me. But I'm proud to say I did not fly off the handle and start yelling and cussing at him. Instead I turned back and came to stand right in front of him. "Why do you do that to me?" I asked very softly. I could feel the tears stinging my eyes, but I didn't care if they fell or not. I was pushed to my limits as far as Dean was concerned.

I think he realized that, because when he saw the tears in my eyes he frowned. "Why do I do what to you?" he asked, and though he looked a bit concerned about me he still sounded grouchy.

"Why are you such an ass to me?" I asked. "And no, don't jump up and go tattle on me to Sam because I just called you an ass," I added quickly when his eyes went wide and he started to get up. "Sit there like an adult and listen to me for once. Please." Dean narrowed his eyes slightly and for a moment he didn't move. Then, much to my surprise, he finally settled back onto the couch and he stared up at me, waiting. I took a deep breath. "Why are you so mean to me?" I asked him. "What did I ever do to you?"

My voice came out strained on those last few words, and I swore at myself as the tears broke free and started falling. Well I had thought I wouldn't care if they fell. "You're mean to me and I don't even know why, Dean!" I told him, and that was all the conversation I could have with him at the moment. I turned and left before he could say anything, and I walked slowly toward the office, wiping my tears away and trying to calm down. I didn't want Sam to see that I had been crying.

So after taking a few deep breaths and checking my appearance in a mirror on the wall, I finally drug myself to the office where Sam was waiting. The door had been left open and after taking another deep breath I peeked nervously around the door jamb. Sam was at the desk, typing away like crazy on his laptop. For a moment I thought he hadn't noticed me, and I was just about to step further into the room when he spoke.

"Come in and close the door," he told me, not lifting his eyes from his laptop as he spoke. Shivering, I did as I was told and came in, closing the door very softly behind me. Then I stood there, not sure what to do next. Sam let me know after another few minutes.

"Come here," he said, still typing away. Sighing softly, I approached the desk, my heart racing. "No, come over here and stand by my chair," Sam told me next, still not looking up at me. Frowning, I moved around the desk and came to stand beside him. He said nothing after that for several minutes. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, growing more restless and nervous with each passing minute. Then finally he stopped typing and turned the chair to where he was facing me. Without a word he reached out and caught my hand, pulling me toward him and guiding me to sit on his lap. I did so, and we were both quiet for another few minutes as Sam just sat there and studied me. Then he sighed quietly and reached out to brush a strand of hair away from my face.

"Dean said you called him a dickhead," he said, propping an elbow on the arm of his chair and then resting his chin on his hand.

I took a deep, shuddering breath. "Yes sir," I whispered. "I did."

"Why?"

I glanced at him. "Didn't Dean tell you why?"

Sam raised his eyebrows slightly. "Yes. But I'd like to hear it from you too."

I swallowed hard. "I wanted to open one of the window shades, and he wouldn't let me. We got into an argument about it, and then I got real mad and called him a dickhead."

Sam said nothing for several more minutes, and the silence was terrible. Then he sighed again and ran his hand over his eyes. "Look," he said softly. "We're all tense enough as it is right now. We really don't need a lot of arguments flaring up all over the place. It's not going to help anything. Don't you agree?"

"Yes sir," I said quietly as I studied my hands

"Okay then. No more arguing, for everyone's sake. Now go find something to do. Preferably not in the same room as Dean," he added with a small smile.

I stared at him. He had not scolded me, he had not sent me to my room, and there had been no promise of a spanking for breaking his rule. "I'm…I'm not in trouble?" I asked very softly and hesitantly, for I dared not put any real hope into the possibility.

"Nope," Sam said, reaching out and stroking my cheek with the back of his hand.

"You're not going to spank me?"

"Nope," he said again. "Not this time."

"And…I don't have to stay in my room or anything like that?"

"No," Sam said, smiling at me. "Just do me the simple favor of staying away from Dean for now. Okay?"

I blinked and stared at him for a moment before sighing softly. "Yes sir," I said as I looked back down at my hands. Now that I knew that my buns were going to stay heat free, my mind went back to my problem with Dean. I didn't know if I should tell Sam about it or not. I didn't think I should, but I didn't know how much more I could take on my own. I didn't say anything and I didn't move as I thought about it, and Sam watched me. I knew he could tell something was wrong.

"You okay?" he asked me, and sure enough, I could hear the concern in his voice.

At his question and the gentleness of his voice my tears started up again. But I tried to stay calm and I again reminded myself about how much trouble it would cause if I told him about how Dean had been acting toward me lately. "Yes sir," I said in a shaking tone that immediately gave away my lie.

"No you're not. You're crying. Rivan, what's wrong? I meant it when I said you're not in trouble," he assured me as he started to rub my back. "You're not gonna get spanked and I didn't even yell at you. So what's got you so upset, baby?" he asked gently as he reached over and got that box of kleenex that was always on the desk.

He held it out to me and I got a few and dabbed at my eyes. "Well I…" My voice faded off and I thought again about keeping my mouth shut. But I had been doing that way too long and I just couldn't keep it up anymore. "It's about Dean," I finally whispered out as I keep my eyes on the wad of tissue in my hands.

"Dean?" Sam said, and I could hear the frown in his voice. "What about Dean?"

"Well…it's just…he's been picking on me a lot lately, Sam," I moaned as I wiped my eyes again.

"Picking on you? Picking on you how, Rivan?"

I could tell that he was really confused and concerned and I felt bad for bringing it up at all. But I had and I couldn't take it back, so it was better to just keep going. "Well for one thing I can't do anything without him thinking that I'm trying to do something I'm not supposed to. He always thinks I'm trying to find a way to sneak out of the house, or like the other day when he thought I was trying to open that window. And look at how he blamed our situation all on me that day you were gone!"

Sam made a face and sighed. "Yeah, I meant to talk to him about that. But my mind's been too caught up with everything Cas told us."

"You mean you've been too caught up with me," I said, feeling bad about it.

Sam frowned slightly and fixed me with an intense stare. "You've needed me," he told me softly as he leaned forward to kiss my lips. "And you still need me. There's nothing wrong with that, Rivan. I don't like to see you so upset. If I can fix it and make it better, I will," he promised. "That's what I'm here for. Okay?"

I nodded. "Yes sir," I said softly, and I took a moment to thank God for sending me this wonderful man.

"Good," he said as he began to rub my back again. "So tell me the rest of it."

I swallowed hard and looked back down at the tissue I still held. "Well, um…it's just…on top of everything I just told you, Dean talks mean to me and snaps at me all the time. I know you haven't seen him do it or heard how he talks to me, but that's because every time this problem comes up we're the only two around. And I haven't said anything to you about it until now because everyone is already so stressed and I didn't want to make things worse! But Sam, I can't take it anymore. He acts like he hates me and I don't even know why!" The tears had started to flow again somewhere in the middle of my speech, and once I was done I really started to cry.

"I don't know why he hates me, Sam!" I wailed as I hid my face against his chest. "I didn't do anything to him! I swear!"

"Well of course you didn't," Sam said as he wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. I could tell by his tone that he was having a hard time trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his brother was being mean to the woman that he loved. "But baby, I'm sure Dean doesn't hate you."

"Then why does he act like it?" I wanted to know.

Sam sighed deeply. "I don't know," he admitted. "I can't think of one good reason why he would act the way you're saying he acts. I wish you had told me this before now, Rivan. You know, I had a feeling there was something going on that you weren't telling me about, but I couldn't begin to guess what it might be. I sure never thought that you might be having a problem with Dean."

I sighed deeply, feeling very miserable. "I think he just doesn't like me," I told him. "You know, he's always been kind of hard on me ever since I started traveling with you two. I know you noticed it then."

"Well yeah," Sam admitted. "But he was never what I would call mean to you."

"No he wasn't," I agreed. "This just started up not long ago."

"Did you try to talk to him about it?" Sam asked me.

"No sir. Not at first, because I didn't want to cause any more problems. But just a few minutes ago, when we got in that fight and he told on me and then came back to tell me you wanted to see me, I asked him why he treats me like he does. I know this time he kind of had a reason to be mad because I wanted to open the window and I called him a dick head, but then he was being mean about me getting into trouble with you. He joked about the fact that I had to 'go to the principal's office.' I kind of snapped and asked him what his problem was."

"Well good. What did he say?" Sam questioned softly as he stopped rubbing my back and reached up to stroke my hair.

"Well, nothing actually. I suddenly got upset and couldn't stand there and talk to him anymore. I left before he could say anything."

Sam sighed very deeply and gave me another squeeze. He didn't say anything, but I could feel his confusion and his frustration. I sat up in his lap so I could look at him, and I could easily see the deep concern in his eyes and the stress in his face. Damn. I never should have opened my big mouth.

"But you know what," I suddenly said as I started to climb off his lap. "It really isn't all as bad as I made it sound. I'm just upset and you know how when you're upset and you're talking about what's upsetting you and you make it sound like it's the end of the world even though it really isn't? That's all I'm doing really. Don't worry about it, okay?" I told him as I turned and leaned in to kiss his lips. He stared at me, his eyes wide. "Everything is okay. I promise. Now I think I'm going to go lie down for a little while. I just got sleepy," I added as I attempted to smile an unconcerned smile.

But once again Sam saw right through me. "Rivan," he said quietly. "You're lying to me."

My eyes went wide and I frowned. "No sir! I'm not!" I protested. "Well…not completely. Really Sam, it's not as bad as I thought it was. I feel better now that I've talked about it. I've been keeping it all bottled up inside me and that's never a good idea. But you don't need to worry. Dean's really not an asshole by nature and I'm sure this problem will blow away on its own one day soon."

Sam stared at me, his mouth open slightly in confusion and outrage. "Rivan Arlyn Langston," he said, sounding so exasperated it was almost funny. But the fact that he called me by my full name kept it from being amusing. "I swear…I ought to put you over my knee right now and just completely wail on your ass until it literally blisters!"

I could feel my eyes nearly bug out at his words, and I took a quick step away from him. "What? Why?" I asked, a frantic note in my tone. Big surprise, huh?

"Because you're standing there telling me the problem you're having really isn't a problem at all and that you're just fine! You are deliberately lying to me!"

"Well I—I didn't…I'm not really lying!" I sputtered out. "I just didn't want to—"

"Cause any more problems," Sam cut me off. "Yeah, I got that. You're not causing any problems. You should have come to me about this a long time ago. DEAN!" he suddenly bellowed toward the door, and I nearly came out of my skin. Despite the fact that the door was closed I knew Dean hadn't missed that bellow.

"No!" I hissed at him. "What are you doing, Sam?"

"We're going to talk about this," he told me. "All three of us. _**DEAN**_!"

"Sam, no!" I cried out as Dean roared back his response from the living room. "I don't want to, everything's okay!" I insisted, and before he could stop me I turned and ran from the office. I nearly collided with Dean as I was running down the hall, and I stopped and looked up at him with tears still streaming from my eyes.

He smirked at me. "Yeah, those spankings are a bitch, aren't they?" he asked dryly. "If you'd behave and stay out of trouble you wouldn't have to worry about it."

"OH WHY DON'T YOU JUST SHUT THE HELL UP, DEAN?" I yelled at him. I took off before he could say anything and ran into the living room and then to the stairs. I hauled butt up them and ran to my room, and I was in it and had the door closed before I could hear any shouting coming from down stairs.

* * *

><p>I sat on the big couch in my room for quite a long time, being very still and listening very closely. I truly expected to hear Sam and Dean arguing all the way from the office, but I didn't hear a thing. Over on the nightstand by my bed the little clock read a quarter to three, and my stomach growled a little. I hadn't had any lunch and the lack of food was starting to bother me. But there was no way I was going to go downstairs right now. Not with the two Winchester brothers down there arguing about me.<p>

I should have just kept my mouth shut. Why hadn't I? Damn my stupid hide. What was going on down there anyway? It was quiet. Too quiet. Had they gone and killed each other? Surely not. They wouldn't have been this quiet about it. I sat there for a few more minutes and was just about to go open the door and see if I could hear anything when suddenly I caught the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. I cringed and listened. Whoever was coming apparently wasn't mad, because they weren't stomping up the stairs in a rage. That was something at least.

I didn't move as I listened to the footsteps getting closer to my door, and then someone knocked sharply on the door once. For a moment I thought about just sitting there and ignoring whoever it was, but I wasn't given the chance to do it for very long. The door suddenly opened without waiting for my permission, and I stiffened when Dean stepped into my room. He started to come further in and then stopped, and I took my chance to snarl at him.

"Look, if you're going to come in here and accuse me of trying to leap off my balcony in order to sneak out of the house, you can just leave now," I told him as I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him.

Dean flashed me a lopsided grin. "Actually I was gonna accuse you of trying to flush yourself down the toilet so you could sneak out through the sewer system," he quipped, and I have to admit I almost thought about smiling. Only Dean could come up with something like that. But I said nothing and my cold glare stayed in place. Dean sighed deeply and crossed his arm over his chest as well. "I just came up here to talk," he told me. "If you'll let me, that is," he added.

I shrugged. "Sure. As long as you don't act like an ass while you're doing it."

Dean gave me another grin as he dropped his arms and came to sit on the side of my bed, facing me. "Nah," he said as he tried to get comfortable. "No ass moments. I promise."

"Oh great, I get to witness a miracle!" I said dryly. "Mind if I go get my phone so I can record it?"

I watched as irritation flashed across his face, and he sighed. "Look, I'm tryin' here, okay?" he said. "Can you just back off for a minute?"

"Oh sure, because you backed off all the time when it came to me over the last few weeks," I retorted, and then I felt those darn tears coming on again.

Dean sighed again and frowned, and for a moment I actually felt sorry for him. I guess I was the one being an ass now. So I refrained from saying anything else and waited. I watched as Dean rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, his hands clasped together.

"Sam tells me that you think I hate you," he began quietly.

I snorted. "Yeah well, forgive me for that. But it's like I said downstairs. You've been nothing but mean to me for weeks now," I told him, annoyed that I sounded so pouty and whiny about it.

"Yeah, I know," he said as he watched me. "But no matter how I acted and what I said…I don't hate you. I could never hate you. In fact, if you want to know the complete, honest to God truth…I'm actually terrified of you."

Okay, I definitely wasn't expecting that. It caught me off guard so much I came very close to falling off the couch. I stared at him for several moments, and he stared back with a steady, patient gaze. "Excuse me?" I said when I was finally able to talk. "You're…_terrified_ of me?"

He nodded. "Yep. You heard me right."

Okay, that made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Dean Winchester was terrified of _me_? How was that possible? I was just a short, small woman that he could easily pick up and pin in place if he so chose to. And I wouldn't be able to do a thing about it. But the skilled, deadly hunter of all kinds of horrible monsters was terrified of me? What the hell was that about? Was he just messing around with me? Was this one of his bad jokes?

I eyed him intently as that thought occurred to me. "_You're_ terrified of _me_," I said again, and it wasn't a question but more so a dry, yeah right statement.

Dean nodded again. "Yes. I am," he said as he looked me straight in the eye.

I blinked. Okay, he did look dead serious. So I decided to go along with it for the moment. "Okay, fine. Let's say you're telling the truth. "_Why_ are you terrified of me?"

He took a deep, sharp breath then and looked down at his hands for a moment. Seconds ticked by and he didn't respond, and he didn't look back at me. Then when I was just about ready to explode, he finally lifted his head and gazed at me. "I'm terrified of you because…" He stopped and swallowed hard. "Because you have direct control of the one thing that matters the most to me in this world. The one thing that has _always_ mattered the most to me."

I frowned at him. Huh? I was so totally confused and lost. And I was also aware there was a part of me that was just waiting for him to start cracking up at me and finally reveal that he was just being an ass. "And what would that be exactly?" I asked carefully.

Dean pressed his lips together and looked down at the soft pink carpeting that covered the bedroom floor. "Sam's happiness," he answered quietly, but loud enough for me to hear.

As soon as he had uttered the last syllable it seemed that time suddenly stopped. I froze and stared at him. I wasn't even breathing. Finally after staring at him for far too long all I was able to gasp out was, "What?"

Dean looked up at me, and I could see the hardness in his eyes, and the pain as well. "You scare the crap out of me because you have complete control over my brother's happiness and his future. Sam is so in love with you that it scares me."

I flinched as though he had hit me. Okay, that hurt. "But…why?" I asked him softly. "He…he's happy. Isn't he?" I asked as my eyes went wide.

"Yes!" Dean nearly snapped at me. "He's happier than I have ever seen him before in my whole life! That's why it scares me. I'm afraid he's not gonna be able to hold onto that happiness for much longer. You…you are…" he stopped again and sighed in frustration. "You can be so wild sometimes and you do the stupidest things! You put yourself in danger way too much! Why do you think I've been so hard on you these last few weeks? Because I'm afraid that you're going to get it in your head that you need to go outside for some reason and then get yourself kidnapped or killed! Rivan, if my brother ever lost you…I don't think he would ever be able to come back from the hell that loss would put him in. He's been through so much and has already lost so many people. He can't afford to lose you. _I _can't afford for him to lose you. Because if he did, I would lose my brother. And you know…I've lost him before, Rivan, but he always came back. He was always a little different every time, but he was still Sam. He was still my brother. But if he loses you he won't come back, and I can't let that happen. That's why I've been watching you so closely, and that's why I'm so hard on you."

He stopped again and took a deep breath, and then continued on. "That's why I've always been hard on you. But it's gotten worse because I see how crazy you can be, and I've seen the risks that you take! I admit that I've been a bit _too_ hard on you lately but…call it desperation. Sam can't lose you, and I can't lose him. As a result you have an over protective, mean, grouchy ass bodyguard," Dean finished with an attempt at a smile.

Yeah. Well…um. Okay so, what does a person say to something like that? You're about to find out. Trying really hard not to hyperventilate, I leaned toward Dean. "If I get up right now and slap you across the face, will you tell on me?" I asked quietly.

Dean wasn't expecting that kind of response. He blinked and stared at me, and then gave me another half grin that held more confusion than amusement. "Well no, but I will stop you from slapping me," he told me, and I believed him.

"Why?" I asked sharply. "Why would you stop me? You shouldn't, because you deserve it!"

Dean frowned at me and narrowed his eyes. "Why do I deserve it?" he wanted to know as he raised one eyebrow at me.

"Because you…are…an…_idiot_!" I snarled, and I was proud of the fact that I did not yell it. "Sam is _not_ going to lose me!"

"Oh no? So does that mean you're going to stop being so wild and crazy and risking your life every five seconds?" Dean asked as he pinned me with a dark look.

"I do not risk my life every five seconds!" I snapped.

"It sure seems like it to me," he told me.

"Yeah well, you're insane!" I informed him. "You're making a big deal out of nothing!"

"Am I really?" Dean asked quietly. "Look at all of the things you've already done. You got yourself kidnapped by what is probably the world's most powerful vampire. He's not called the vampire King because he's into role playing games, Rivan. And you defy Sam's rules whenever you want to and do stupid stuff like go outside or open a door just to get a damn tampon! You still haven't completely grasped the danger that you are constantly in!"

"Yes I have!" I insisted as I thought about what I had told Sam the night he had spanked me in the office. I made it very clear that I knew how dangerous this life is. "I know what kind of dangers there are in this world! I've been doing better about following the rules!"

Dean snorted. "You're a delusional little thing, you know that?"

I glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means what it means. Not even a half hour ago you were demanding that you be allowed to open one of those window shades. Sam has told you, more than once, why they can't be opened. But did you care? Nope. You wanted one open anyway. Can't you see why I worry that Sam will lose you?"

I opened my mouth to snap out a reply, but I found that I didn't know how to respond. The man had a point, damn him. So at a loss for words I let out a loud sigh as I crossed my arms over my chest again and looked down at the floor.

Dean was quiet for a few moments, and then he sighed too. "Well, there you go," he said. "You wanted to know why I was being so hard on you, so now you know."

I made a face. "Yeah, now I know," I grumbled as I slumped against the back of the couch.

"Yep. So stop whining to Sam that I hate you, okay?"

My head snapped up and I glared at him. "Only if you promise to back off. A lot. I flinch every time I go around a corner because I'm afraid you'll be there ready to drill me with fifty questions about what I'm doing!"

"Okay, fine," Dean replied. "I admit I was a bit heavy handed—"

"A bit?" I asked with a snort and a roll of my eyes.

"_But_," he said with narrowed eyes, putting pressure on the word. "I won't be so much of an ass from now on." He was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry that I made your life hell," he said quietly.

I said nothing as I watched him. An apology from Dean was rare, so I figured I better be grateful for it and acknowledge it nicely. "It's okay," I said with a soft sigh. "But you have to calm down on other things as well," I added. "There's been times when you've been kind of hard on Eden too and it really hurt her feelings."

Dean made a face. "Yeah, I know. I already talked to her about it. We're okay."

"Good. And for your information Sam isn't going to lose me, because I know how much it hurts to lose the ones you love. I would _never _put Sam through that," I told him quietly. "So stop worrying about it so much, okay?"

For what felt like a very long time Dean sat there and stared at me. As he did I never realized what a great poker face the man had. I couldn't tell what was going in his mind at that moment. Finally though he swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "Yeah," he muttered, and he sounded tired. "Sure, okay," he said as he stood up. "I'm gonna go tell Sam we had our chick flick moment so he can stop freaking out," he told me. He paused and flashed a smile at me, and with that he left the room

I shook my head at him as he left and sighed, because I realized in that moment that Dean would always worry about Sam and his happiness. And that was more than fine because that's the way it was supposed to be. Sam was his brother after all, and Dean had been watching his back since he was four years old. But sometimes he got a bit carried away with it all. And I knew all too well that I would never convince him of that, and I knew he would never stop worrying about Sam no matter what. I'd have to realize that and except it if I was going to continue living in the Winchester's world. But I figured I was up to it. After all, I had survived everything else, right?

* * *

><p>Dean was true to his word. After our little talk he changed drastically, and almost overnight. He didn't snap at me anymore and he didn't give me any dark, dirty looks. He was actually happier all the way around and our situation became a bit more bearable. It helps when people aren't at each other's throats all the time.<p>

But sadly this did not last long. The fact that Sam was more willing to let me get away with a lot of disobedience became more obvious as the days went by. It was really amazing what he was willing to over look as far as I was concerned. I found I could do almost anything and not get in trouble for it. All too soon Sam and Dean were arguing about it.

"What the hell, Sammy?" I overheard Dean saying one day while he and Sam sat in the living room. Sam had just caught me pulling up one of the window shades and after coming over and pulling it back down he'd merely said, "You know better," and had kissed me and sent me on my way.

"You just walked in here and caught her breaking one of your more important rules!" Dean continued. "And you didn't do anything to her! You didn't even chew her out!"

"Dean, she's going through a lot of stuff right now," Sam told him, somewhat patiently. "What Cas told us, told her, really shook her. You know she's been different lately."

"Yeah, I did notice! About three weeks ago! But she's back to her normal self, and she's pushing it! She sees that you're willing to let her get away with things, and she's taking advantage of it! You're being too damn soft with her Sam, and it's gonna come back and kick you in the ass one of these days!"

"No it won't," Sam insisted firmly. "And as I recall you promised her you'd get off her case and stop being an ass," he reminded Dean. "Right now you're not doing too good on that promise."

"There's being an ass and then there's telling someone they've got their head up _their _ass!" Dean snarled. "Sam, you let her open that window shade without any kind of correction! You can't turn a blind eye to her actions! The more she realizes she can get away with, the more she's gonna do! Next thing you know she'll start opening the doors and going outside soon!"

"No she won't Dean. You're over reacting."

"Oh am I really?" Dean growled, his temper flaring. "You know, right before Cas showed up you were about to give her a damn good spanking because she had earned it! Remember that? She hit me in the back of the head with a book, slapped the hell out of me, and threw hot coffee on me! You remember that, Sam? You never spanked her for that and now she's long overdue! You're babying her over what Cas told her! That's fine and great, but you're taking it too far!"

After that the argument got rather ugly, and it ended with Sam telling Dean not to tell him how to go about handling me. Days went by and Sam and Dean didn't talk much to each other. I felt bad about that, and I felt bad about the fact that Dean was right. I _was_ taking advantage of Sam's leniency. But I found I couldn't stop. I kept pushing and testing in several different ways, all small enough. But even Eden could see the danger in what I was doing.

"Rivan," she told me one day while we sat alone in my room. "You need to be careful. I know this new found freedom of yours is great and all, but you just keep pushing it. One day Sam won't take it anymore. And with the way you keep testing him…it's almost like you want to push him that far."

I stiffened instantly. "Of course I don't want to push him that far! It's just nice to be able to do things I want to do for a change!" She said nothing more about it, and life continued the way it had been. But like always life could not go on the same way for long without changing. It started one morning when I came downstairs to find Dean and Eden having a terrific row. It was the first serious fight they'd had since Dean and I had our chick flick moment, as he called it.

Anyway, I watched in shock as the two stood inches from each other and snarled and snapped, neither one backing down. "I said no and that's final, Eden!" Dean bellowed at her, his face red and his eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

"But WHY?" Eden yelled right back, standing on her tip toes so she could better spear Dean with her glare. That was one of the disadvantages of being short and having a tall boyfriend. It was like that with Sam and me, only worse. Sam was taller than Dean, and of course taller than me. I was five foot three. Sam was six foot four. Eden was five foot four and Dean was a little over six foot. It made things interesting to say the least.

"You know why!" Dean snarled at her. "I am not going to repeat myself! Now either deal with it or I'll take you upstairs and deal with _you_!"

At those words all of Eden's defiance seemed to rush out of her like a rapidly deflating balloon. She shrank away from Dean, and he stood there for a moment to make sure she was going to take his warning to heart. When he was satisfied that she was, he turned, swearing loudly, and headed for the stairs, not looking at me as he stormed by me. As soon as we heard his bedroom door slam shut Eden let out a loud, frustrated sigh and stomped over to the couch. She flopped down on it and I joined her.

"Geez, you're lucky you didn't get spanked!" I told her as I watched her.

Eden made a face. "Yeah, that's the only good thing that came out of it," she huffed.

We were both quiet for a few minutes and then I spoke. "What was that all about anyway?" I asked her softly.

She snorted and crossed her arms over her chest, pouting. "I wanted to go for a walk outside, and he wouldn't take me," she said. "And then I asked if we could at least open one window in here. He said no! I am so _sick_ of being completely enclosed in this house! I mean, it's just _one window_! What would it hurt?"

"Well, it didn't help when Cas told Sam and Dean last time he was here that they needed to continue to keep all the windows closed," I reminded her. "So try blaming Cas," I suggested with a smile. "That might make things easier."

Eden snorted again, louder this time. "He's not here to blame. It would be no fun."

I had to laugh. "Well, that's true." I frowned as I watched my friend suddenly sniffle pitifully.

"I just want to smell and feel the fresh air," she moaned. Like I said before, Eden was never one to be kept inside for long before it drove her crazy. "Just for a little while!"

"Well you know what?" I said, hopping off the couch. "You're going to get to! Come on," I added, and grabbed her hand. I pulled her off the couch and headed for the nearest window.

"What are you doing?" she whispered frantically as I let her hand go and approached the window.

I turned to her. "Well, as you've noticed, I've been able to do a lot of things lately without getting in trouble for it. Sam's gone all Mr. Gentle ever since Cas told us about my ancestor and the ring. I can open this window myself and not get in trouble for it. And if you happen to enjoy a little fresh air while it's open, who can fuss?"

I stood there and watched as Eden's eyes got huge. "Oh Rivan," she whispered. "I don't think you ought to. I know Sam's let you get away with a lot of things, but you've never tried doing anything like this. It's okay, really. I don't need fresh air that badly."

"Yes you do," I said firmly, and with that I turned and pulled the window shade up. Sun light poured through the window, and I peered out. It was a beautiful day. It seemed so wrong not to have a window open on a day like this. "Look how pretty it is out there!" I told Eden as I unlatched the window. Quickly and easily I shoved the window up and cool, wonderful air drifted in, caressing our faces. I breathed in deeply, and then motioned Eden closer. She glanced behind her once toward the stairs, and then she turned and stepped up to the window. I moved out of the way so she could get the most of the cool air, and she leaned out and breathed deeply too.

"I'd forgotten how this felt," she said as she leaned out even further. Then suddenly she pulled back in, looking nervous.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Nothing. I just don't think we should do this for very long."

I made a face at her. "Come on, enjoy it!" I encouraged, and stepped forward to lean out the window myself. After a few moments I leaned even further out, and I felt Eden grip the edge of my shirt.

"Rivan!" she hissed, and then laughed when I took a deep, dramatic breath of the clean, cool air.

And then the shit hit the fan.

But the trouble didn't come in the form of angry boyfriends. Out of nowhere, outside below the window sill, a hand reached out and snatched at the front of my shirt. I screamed bloody murder, but the hand did not let go.

"What's wrong, what's wrong?" Eden yelled desperately, getting a good grip on my leg and not letting go.

"Someone's trying to pull me out of the window! Don't let me go!" I screeched, and without thinking my hand shot out toward the face that was leering up at me. It was a man, one I didn't recognize. But at the moment his identity was not important. Getting him to let go of me was. Without pausing I dug my finger nails into the man's eyes as hard as I could. Almost instantly I felt blood spurt and then felt it run down my hand. The man's howls mixed in with Eden's screams for help, and somehow I managed to get my other hand out, and I racked my nails down the side of his face. He swore violently and let me go, and I fell backwards into the house, slamming into Eden and falling on top of her, pinning her under me. For a moment we were both tangled up, and we were both shouting at each other while trying to get up.

"Are you hurt?" We shrieked at each other at least twice, and then finally I answered.

"I'm fine!" I shouted as I tried to get off of Eden without hurting her. Outside I could hear the man moaning and cussing, and I scrambled to get up and close the window. "Stay still!" I told Eden as I struggled to get up. "I—"

"_Rivan_!" I suddenly heard Sam snarl, and I looked up to see him standing there with a shotgun in his hands. Seconds later Dean was at his side, a pistol ready in his hand.

"_DON'T MOVE_!" Sam roared at me, and he and Dean pointed their weapons at the open window. Seconds later a bloody face popped up into view, followed by the man's shoulders. Looking very steady and terrifyingly ferocious, Sam and Dean aimed their weapons at him and fired. Sam's shot caught the man's right shoulder, and he screamed in shock and agony, and then screamed louder when Dean's shot caught him on the other shoulder. Clutching his right shoulder, which was the worst of his wounds, he let out a gurgling scream and then he was gone. A load of cussing floated through the window to us, and Sam and Dean remained still, even when the sounds of footsteps indicated that the man was running. Dean twitched, and Sam glanced at him.

"We need to stay here with the girls," he told Dean, and his voice was so snarly and so vicious that I found myself thanking my lucky stars that he was on our side. Then seconds later I got another shock as Castiel suddenly appeared next to Sam and Dean.

"Stay here," he said, his voice cold. "I will follow him." And with that he was gone again. The room filled with a terrible silence, and the next thing I knew Sam was helping me to my feet, and Dean was doing the same with Eden. After giving her a rather hard kiss, Dean turned and closed the window and locked it, and then pulled down the shade. As soon as he was done he turned back to Eden and pulled her into his arms again.

"You okay?" he asked gruffly.

"Yes sir," I barely heard her whispered answer before she buried her face against his chest.

Meanwhile Sam was being a little louder in his inspection of me. "You have blood all over your hands!" he half shouted, taking my hands carefully into his and examining them frantically.

"It's not my blood," I told him quickly. "It was that man's. I tried to claw his eyes out. I didn't get a chance, but he's got plenty of scratches on his face to remember me by," I told Sam, idiotically giving him a beaming smile of pride. Then suddenly shock set in and I burst into tears.

"It's okay," Sam said gently, gathering me into his arms and holding me close, surrounding me with his protective warmth. "Everything's going to be alright. You're not hurt at all?"

"N-n-no sir!" I blubbered, hiding my face against his chest. "He c-came out of nowhere, he grabbed me and tried to p-pull me out of the window! I don't know who he was! I-I didn't get a good look at him before I started to claw him!"

"All right, that's okay. I'm sure Cas will catch him," Sam told me, giving me a tight hug. "Come on, let's get you into the bathroom and get you cleaned up."

"Eden and I are gonna stay down here," Dean told Sam. "She's okay, just shaken."

"Okay," Sam said as he began to lead me out of the living room. "We'll be right back." I wobbled a bit as we walked and after the third time doing that Sam finally stopped and scooped me up in his arms. He carried me up the stairs and to my bathroom, where he helped me wash the blood off my hands and arms. Once that was done Sam checked me over again real good, and once he was satisfied that I wasn't hurt he got some clean clothes for me.

I was still so freaked out by what had happened that I was shaking and could barely get my clothes changed. Finally Sam had to help me and the changing of my clothes went much faster. Once he had everything snapped and zipped he threw away the blood stained shirt and then led me back downstairs and to the living room where Dean and Eden were sitting together on one of the couches. Dean had made her a cup of hot tea, and as Sam led me to the couch and had me sit down Dean spoke.

"There's a pot of hot water on the stove if she wants any tea," he told Sam, who nodded. Once I was settled he disappeared into the kitchen and came back minutes later with a calming cup of hot tea. I took it gratefully and sipped at it as Sam sat next to me. Sniffling, I leaned up against him, holding the cup in both hands.

"What do we do now?" I asked in a soft voice after several minutes of silence had passed.

"Well," Sam said as he turned and brushed his lips against my temple. "Right now we just wait for Cas to come back." I nodded, and it was then that I noticed that Sam had his shot gun resting against the couch next to him, ready to be used if needed. Across from us Dean had one arm around Eden, while his free hand gripped his pistol. Next to him was a bag of the other weapons that they owned. The brothers were ready to fight long and hard if they needed to.

But I got the feeling that the drama was over for now. But still, it didn't hurt to be prepared. Taking a deep breath, I snuggled closer to Sam as we waited for Cas to return and tell us what he had found out in his pursuit of the attacker.

* * *

><p>The wait for Castiel took longer than I thought it would. No one seemed inclined to leave the living room, and for a while we just sat there in silence. Then Sam started asking questions about what had happened, and I explained everything again with Eden's help. Inevitably the conversation led to the one question I'd been dreading.<p>

"How did the window get open?" Dean asked, and his voice shook with barely controlled anger. "Who opened it?" he demanded, and looked down at Eden. Of course he would suspect her since they'd just been fighting about opening the shade on one of the windows.

I jumped in quickly. "I did," I said, and at that exact moment Eden made the same claim. We stared at each other. "You did not!" We both protested in unison. And then, "Stop lying!"

"Okay, someone needs to stop lying and fess up!" Dean snapped at both of us, and Eden flinched and looked away.

"Rivan, did you really open the window?" Sam asked quietly.

"Yes," I admitted right as Eden yelled "NO!" I could see that we were really pushing Sam and Dean, but before either one could rip into us a new voice joined us.

Castiel was suddenly in the room with us. "She is lying," he said calmly, nodding at Eden. "She is not," he added, looking at me. "But there is no time to deliver correction," the Angel continued when Sam gave me a withering glare. "You must all leave. Now. That man that attacked Rivan was sent by James, who has been traveling and looking for her. He has come across a problem he had not expected. He is growing weak. He is not sure why, but he seems to think that he must perform the spell on the ring in order to gain his health back. He has stopped in South Dakota, where Bobby lives," Castiel said, glancing first at Sam and then at Dean. "It is as far as he can go, but he has enough strength left in him to harm Bobby if he wants to. And of course that is his goal. He sent that man to deliver a message. He and his group of vampires will attack Bobby, as well as the rest of the town, if Rivan is not given to him."

"So you caught up with that man and he told you all of this?" Sam asked, his voice calm but strong as he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close.

"Yes," Castiel replied. "He is dead, so we cannot question him further. He was merely human, not demon possessed. That is how he got through all the wards around the property."

"How did he die?" Sam asked. "From the gun shots?"

"No," Cas said calmly. "He killed himself before I could stop him," he added. I frowned at that and for a moment thought about asking how the man had killed himself, but then I decided I didn't want to know.

Dean snorted. "So why didn't you just bring him back to life and haul his ass here so I could beat some more answers out of him?" he demanded, and Sam winced and shook his head at his brother, causing Dean's eyes to go wide in a funny what-did-I-say look of confusion.

Sam sighed deeply as Cas slowly turned to look at Dean. "He gave me all the information I needed to know," he told Dean sharply. "Everything you need to know I just shared. You all must pack now and leave. You must go to South Dakota where Bobby is."

"And do what exactly?" Sam asked Cas, and the Angel glanced at him. "Are you saying we should actually give Rivan to that monster?" Sam added, and I could see a darker side of him that I usually didn't witness spring to life at the thought.

"Of course not," Cas nearly growled at him. "But we are out of time and we no longer have any other options. You and Dean must end this. James wants to meet you at the local cemetery in Sioux Falls two weeks from now. There he expects to receive Rivan and the ring, but of course that will not happen. You need to contact everyone that you trust, and you must go meet James and destroy him. That is the only way this will all end." For a few minutes no one said anything, and as we sat in silence Sam and Dean looked at each other, and I could see that they were having one of their mind conversations that they were so good at. Then finally Dean nodded.

"Okay, I'll call Bobby and let him know," he said as he stood up. "I'll tell him to call Jo and Ellen and see if they'll help. Maybe he can get a few other people," Dean added as he pulled his cell phone out.

"Tell him to call Missouri," Sam told him, and Dean looked at him with a frown. "If Bobby and everyone else is going to come with us to the cemetery and help in this fight, someone is going to have to stay with the girls at Bobby's house," Sam explained.

"Wait, who is Missouri?" I asked as Eden's eyes went wide at Sam's words. She reached out and tugged on Dean's sleeve, looking scared and mad. I knew why. "And who says Eden and I are going to stay behind anyway?" I demanded, ready to put up a fight.

"You're going to stay behind because we say you are," Sam told me as he too stood up. He caught my hand and pulled me off the couch, and Dean did the same with Eden. "You two need to go pack your things right now," Sam continued. "Be fast. We have a lot of driving to do if we're going to Bobby's."

"But Sam, you can't seriously expect us to stay out of this fight!" I protested. As I did I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Cas, apparently bored with this part of the conversation, had wandered over to the nearest Lazy Boy and sat down. I ignored him and everyone else in the room as I put all my focus on Sam. "We have every right to be there and to fight with you and Dean!" I continued. "We're a part of this whether you like it or not!"

"No you're not Rivan," Sam told me in a calm, firm voice. "Not where the fighting is concerned. There's going to be vampires all over that cemetery. I won't have time to try to keep an eye on you and fight too. If you're out there in the middle of it, it will only distract me. If that happens, then people die. Our people. I need to be on the top of my game with this. I can't worry about you being out there with us. Missouri is a friend, one we can trust, and if she'll agree to come and stay with you and Eden, that's how it's going to be."

I stared at him for a moment. Then I kind of snapped. "No!" I yelled at him, and actually stomped my foot on top of it.

In an instant Sam's eyes had gone dark. "Yes," he said quietly, and before I could blink he grabbed me by the arm, turned me slightly, and smacked me on the butt three times. Gone was the tolerate Sam of only a few days ago. In his place was a strong, stubborn Sam that would do anything to protect me, whether it be from the vampires or myself. And he was going to make damn sure I understood him when he said stay put.

I howled in shock at the smacks and stared at him with wide eyes when he let me go. But he wasn't done being strict and stern. "Get upstairs and pack your things," he ordered, and his tone was razor sharp. "And do it now. If you continue to fight and argue with me, I swear I will blister your ass and then we'll leave, whether you have your things packed and in the Impala or not. So it's your choice. If you want your clothes and all of your other things, get upstairs and get them packed. If you don't care about your stuff or your ability to sit down, then by all means, stay down here and continue to throw a fit."

Complete silence followed his words. Dean and Eden were standing there staring at Sam in surprise, while Cas remained seated, looking uninterested in all of it. I stayed where I was, staring at Sam in shock as tears filled my eyes.

Sam gave me a few more moments, and when I still hadn't moved he shrugged. "Have it your way," he said, and suddenly he began working on the buckle of his belt.

I felt myself go cold and I stepped back. "No!" I shrieked, sounding like an overheated tea pot. And if I didn't move I really would find myself to be over heated in at least one area. "I'm going, I'm going!" I added, and with that I spun around and ran for the stairs. I charged up them and as I did I heard Dean order Eden upstairs to pack as well. I could hear her starting up the stairs as I reached the top, and without looking back I ran into my room. I grabbed up my suitcase out of my closet and tossed it on my bed, and then jerked open the top drawer of the dresser and began pulling clothes out. I worked frantically and as I did I heard someone come to my door. I looked up to see Eden standing there looking in at me.

"You okay?" she asked softly as she watched me toss things into the suitcase without even trying to be neat.

"No," I moaned as more tears filled my eyes. They fell this time and I swiped at them. "I'm not," I added as I pulled the next drawer open. "But it doesn't matter. You better go start packing before you get in trouble too," I told her as I turned my back on her. She didn't reply, and after a few moments I heard her leave and go into her room.

We were all packed and ready to go in less than an hour. Castiel was already gone, and I learned from Dean that the Angel had gone to talk to Missouri himself. Sam was outside putting our things in the trunk and Eden was already sitting in the back seat. Dean came out with me once I was ready and I waited as he locked the front door. When he was done we headed toward the Impala and he went around to the driver's side while I took my things to Sam. He took my bags and put them in the trunk without a word and I watched as he slammed the trunk lid closed.

As soon as he was done he turned and grabbed me, pulling me into a hug. For a second I resisted him, and then finally I gave in and wrapped my arms around him and I pressed my face against his chest. Of course tears filled my eyes again and I let out a little sob, and Sam dropped a kiss on the top of my head and squeezed me tightly.

"It's okay," he told me quietly. "Everything is gonna be okay, baby. I'm gonna take care of everything. I'll make it right again," he promised as he ran a hand up and down my back. I was beyond words at that moment so I merely snuggled closer and held him tighter. We stood like that for a few more moments until Dean leaned out the window and told us to get our asses in the car.

Ignoring him, Sam caught my chin and gently forced me to look up at him. As soon as our eyes met he kissed me, so tenderly and so gently I was surprised I didn't melt into a big puddle of mush before he was done. Then Dean laid on the horn and swore, and, grinning the whole time, Sam took my hand and pulled me around to the back door of the car. He opened it for me and I got in quickly, because Dean was still swearing. Sam closed the door once I was in and got in front next to his grouchy brother.

A few minutes later we pulled away from the house that had been our temporary home, and for a moment I looked back at it. Many things had happened in that house these past few months, and leaving it was like saying good bye to a warm, comfortable friend, even if not everything I had experienced in the house had been warm and comfortable. Once again tears filled my eyes, and refusing to let them fall this time, I turned back around and faced the road we were traveling down now.

It was a road that offered very little comfort or hope. Only confusion and fear, darkness and pain. But like always I would struggle through it all, and in the end I knew I would do whatever I had to in order to keep the people I loved safe.

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><p><strong>AN: And that's it for now! Hope you all liked it. If you have a moment and would like to please leave a review and let me know what you thought. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up but as always I will do my best to get it up as soon as I can. Again thank you all for your support and your interest in my story. As always it's a priceless treasure for a writer! Thanks everyone! :-)**


	16. Distant Thunder

**A/N: Okay, so here it is, the new chapter! Originally this one was going to be a lot longer than this, but I kept writing and writing until it got too long for one whole chapter, so I decided to split it into two chapters. Sometimes I think I can get too much in one chapter and it ends up overwhelming my readers. I didn't want to do that so that's why I cut it in half. Don't worry, you'll get chapter 17 soon. I'm still working on the editing on that chapter so it's just not quite ready to go up. But you won't have to wait long! Oh yes, if you have a moment go take a look at my profile. I'll be putting up some links of the girls as I see them in my mind. So if you've always wanted to see what Rivan and Eden look like, then here's your chance! :-)**

**Okay, well I can't think of anything else to say so I'll just shut up. Oh yeah, if I wrote something wrong about Bobby's house and its set up, I apologize. And as usual please forgive any mistakes you may find while reading. Thank you to everyone who reviewed my last chapter and thank you for your kind words! I hope you all enjoy this chapter just as much! Happy reading!**

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><p><strong>One week later: Sioux Falls, South Dakota<strong>

There were a lot of people crammed in Bobby Singer's house. Sam and Dean had driven the Impala long and hard, and we'd reached Bobby's three days ago to find it packed just like it was now. Along with me, Sam, Dean, Eden and Bobby were Ellen and Jo, who had made it there a day ahead of us. Then there was Castiel, but he only showed up every now and then and he never stayed long. Besides him there were also three other men, hunters that Bobby had contacted and talked into coming and helping. These men, by the names of Marshal, Brad, and Russell, kept mainly to themselves. And I was glad of that. Marshal was a little strange and smiled a lot, even when there wasn't a reason to smile.

Brad seemed like an okay guy, other than the fact that he often wandered around and talked to himself more than he talked to anyone else. And Russell…well Russell was just plain scary. He had bulging muscles, a thick neck, no hair, and eyes so pale blue they almost looked white. Usually one could find him in the kitchen sharpening his many knives, and let me tell you, the man had knives. A ton of them, more than even Sam and Dean had.

If he wasn't sharpening his knives he was checking and cleaning his guns, and he had a lot of those too. Several times I had gone into the kitchen to find him in there with his knives and guns, and within seconds I was hauling butt out of there, eager to escape his strange stare. Much to my horror I seemed to fascinate him for some reason. Yippee. Anyway, one time after such an encounter I pulled Bobby aside and asked him if he really thought we could trust Russell, and the old hunter grinned at me from under the bill of his favorite trucker's cap.

"Russell's a little strange," Bobby had told me quietly. "I'll give him that. But I've known him most of my life, and he is one damn good hunter. He specializes in vampires. He holds the record for killing the most. And he knows how to take them down fast. We're gonna need a man like him on our side when the time comes," Bobby added, his eyes darkening just a bit. "I was lucky I got him to come. Had to offer him an ass load of money. That, plus the added bonus of killing a lot of vampires, is what got him here." I still didn't feel much better about Russell after that, so I figured I'd just have to keep an eye on the man whenever possible, and pray Bobby was right about him.

Besides the three new hunters we had yet another guest in the house. This person was none other than the woman named Missouri that Sam had mentioned. On our way to Bobby's place, Sam and Dean had filled me and Eden in about Missouri. The woman had known their father, and apparently she had psychic abilities and could sense spirits. Sam and Dean also explained that she knew some protective spells and could cast them around Bobby's house, and that would keep everyone inside safe for the time being. Of course, Eden and I were everyone's main concern and that's why Missouri had been brought into the picture.

Missouri was the first person that greeted us when we walked into Bobby's house. Well actually I should say she greeted me and Eden. She'd practically shoved Sam and Dean aside to get to us, and once she had she'd grabbed my hand and Eden's and pulled us close. She'd examined us for a moment, and then she bestowed on us a beaming smiling that could make almost anyone feel better.

"Oh, just look at you two!" she'd gushed as she'd reached out to stroke my cheek and then Eden's. "Aren't you both just gorgeous? So beautiful! I've wanted to meet you two for a **_long_** time now," she'd said with a soft sigh and a little wink. I'd frowned slightly at the way she'd said that but before I could say anything she had paused for a moment and placed her hand gently on my cheek. She'd studied me intensely and then sighed and shook her head and turned to Sam. "I see you've got your hands full with this one," she'd told him, and I'd felt a blush stain my cheeks. "She's just as stubborn as they come. Trust me when I say you will never be bored with her around."

Sam had given her a half smile and shrugged. "Well I sure haven't been yet," he'd told her as he'd glanced at me. I'd made a face at him and his half smile had turned into a full grin with all the wicked trimmings.

"And this one's no different," Missouri had added, turning to Eden as I had turned away from Sam. He had gone and winked at me and had made me blush even more. Anyway, Missouri had placed her hand on Eden's cheek as she had done to mine, and shook her head again. "Wild and crazy," she'd muttered. "Lordy! Shame on you both! But never mind darlings, never mind. Come on now and I'll help you two get settled."

We were so shocked by this greeting that we went right along with her, and as she'd led us to the room where we'd be staying she'd chattered constantly, telling us a little about how she knew Sam and Dean, and even about her powers. During the next few days I learned more about her, and I had to say she was a fascinating person. She took right to me and Eden, and we took to her as well.

Several times over the first few days I had glanced out one of the windows to find Missouri outside, wandering around the house and staring up at it, murmuring something as she walked. At the time Dean was the closest one around, and I'd glanced at him. "Is she casting those spells you were talking about?" I'd asked him.

"Yep," he'd said in reply. "She's got some good ones, and they should hold as long as we need them to."

I had to say that they seemed to be doing the trick. Nothing had bothered us since we got there and Missouri had promised that would continue, as long as everyone stayed inside. For a little while that had been a problem. It annoyed Bobby to no end that he couldn't go outside when he needed to. He had things out there that he needed from time to time that he just couldn't keep in the house. After a few complaints from him about it Missouri had finally given in and had gone back outside, where she had spent quite a while putting her protective spells on the entire property.

Once she'd finished the results made things easier, and everyone was free to go in and out as they needed to. Well, everyone except me and Eden, of course. As told to us by Sam and Dean, there was no reason for either one of us to leave, so we better keep our butts inside at all times.

We both did. It was hard, but we did it. This new life that we were now living was a lot different than when we were in Maine. Traffic wise, that is. There was always something going on, someone coming in and out of the house, orders being slung around here and there. It definitely wasn't boring by any means. But as the days passed there was one thing I noticed that was not happening that needed to happen. No one was talking about the plans to take on James. There was a lot of activity, but no planning.

After a while this began to make me nervous, for the night of the meeting was drawing closer. James had demanded to meet at midnight of course, and I waited for someone to bring up the fact that they had no real plans for this "meeting". But no one uttered one word about it. If there was a plan in place then they were all mind readers and everyone already knew the plan, and they saw no need to talk about it. I found that very annoying because there was something I wanted to point out about the whole thing. But whenever I found the nerve to bring it up someone cut me off and changed the subject. Most of the time it was Missouri, and she was always good at asking something that required a lengthy answer. Once I had her question answered to her satisfaction either I'd forgotten about my point or most everyone had left the room to do something else.

But I really only needed to share my point with one person. However it was the one person who refused to listen to me on the matter. Sam was being as stubborn as ever about refusing to allow me to come help take down James. But I was stubborn too and was determined to at least make him listen to me. Unfortunately for me I still had a bad habit of forgetting what kind of trouble my stubbornness could get me into if I decided to practice it on my no-nonsense boyfriend.

Sam reminded me of that trouble when I found him sitting alone on the couch in the living room one afternoon, a pile of guns spread out on the coffee table in front of him. The others were off in various parts of the house so I took the opportunity to talk to him. Or I tried. Feeling nervous but determined, I came and sat beside him on the couch. I watched him check and clean the guns for a few minutes, and every once in a while he glanced at me, the question in his eyes clear. He knew I had something specific in mind that I wanted to say.

Finally I went ahead and started. "Sam, I need to talk to you," I began, and waited. For a moment he continued to check the guns, and then he sighed deeply and turned to me.

"No," he said calmly.

I'd not been expecting that. "Well I—uh, wait what?" I asked with a frown, confused.

"No," he repeated, just as calmly.

I stared at him. "What are you saying no to? I can't talk to you?"

"Nope."

My eyes flew open wide. "What? Why not?" I demanded loudly.

"Because I know what you're gonna say," he told me, still ever so calmly as he turned back to the gun he was cleaning.

"How the hell can you know what I'm going to say?" I snapped. "I haven't even said it yet!"

Sam paused in his work again and slowly turned to look at me. I swallowed hard when his eyes met mine, because I could see that I had already pushed things pretty good with my snarly remark. "Watch your mouth," he warned me very quietly. "And watch your attitude." He let a moment or two go by in heavy silence. "Got it?" he added, still just as quietly as before.

I felt a shiver run up my spine and it took all my will power to keep my eyes on him. "Yes sir," I said softly and carefully.

For a moment he didn't move and then finally he turned back to the gun that he held. "Good. And I know what you're going to say because you've already said it," he continued. "You said it days ago. You want to try to talk me into letting you come with us when we go fight James. My answer is still the same. You're not going."

"But…but I…Sam you have to listen to me!" I insisted, fighting to keep the anger out of my voice. "Please! I thought of something and I wanted to tell you about it!"

"That's too bad. Whatever it is that you want to tell me will only lead to you begging to go with us. It's not going to happen, Rivan. That's my final answer and you're not going to change my mind." And with that he turned away from me, putting down the gun he had been cleaning and reaching out for another to check.

Well of course at that point my temper went through the roof. I was so furious I was beyond logical thought. And I proved it when my hand snaked out and grabbed the gun Sam was reaching for. I snatched it up and away from him, and he spun around and stared at me in surprise.

"Rivan, what the hell?" he demanded, his surprised look quickly turning into a furious one.

"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LISTEN TO ME?" I screamed at him, and then I threw the gun across the room with all my might. I watched as it slammed into the wall across from us, leaving a huge hole in its wake. Then it fell with a loud cracking sound on the table below it, and I winced as I heard glass and other various things break into pieces.

There was a moment of intense silence before all the noise brought everyone else to the living room to see what was going on. All they got to see was Sam grabbing me by the arm and getting to his feet, pulling me off the couch as he did. No one said anything as he marched me to the stairs, at least until we reached Dean and Eden.

"What happened?" she asked me as we passed, her eyes wide and full of worry.

"Eden," Dean said, the warning in his tone clear. She said something back to him but I didn't catch it. Sam had reached the stairs and he started up them quickly, pulling me along. Like the stupid idiot that I am, I cussed him out as we went, because I was still mad. He ignored me and took me to the room I was sharing with Eden. He threw the door open and marched me inside, slamming the door closed behind him. He didn't say a word as he stomped over to the bed that Eden slept on, and he kept a tight grip on my arm as he moved.

He reached the bed quickly and sat down on the edge, jerking me toward him. In two lightning fast moves he suddenly had my jeans unbuttoned and unzipped, and then in the space of a heartbeat he had those jeans and my panties pulled down to my knees. It all happened so fast I couldn't do a thing about it, and then suddenly I was across his lap and he was spanking the hell out of me.

"SAM!" I shrieked as my right hand shot behind me, trying to block my rear from his hard blows. He paused for half a second, long enough to capture my wrist in his left hand and then pin it to my back, and then he was back to spanking me. His big hand cracked down on my naked cheeks hard and fast, and I screamed and then burst into tears as he continued to tear my butt up. He went from one cheek to the other, over and over again, and then he started in on my sit spot. I howled when he started on that area and then kicked my legs frantically, begging him to stop. Instead of stopping he smacked me on my leg three times in the same spot, and I screeched before I started to sob even louder than before.

Sam didn't say a word as he sat there on that bed and spanked me until my cheeks glowed. I sobbed and begged and pleaded with him to stop while I twisted my body around as much as I could in a pointless attempt to get away from his strong, punishing hand.

"Sam, please stop!" I howled at him desperately. "I'm sorry, stop stop stop! Oooooh please Sam, please STOP!" I begged him. He didn't and after a while I got tired of fighting and squirming, so I went limp and sobbed into the bedspread as he continued to set fire to my ass.

Then he started to scold me. "What the hell were you thinking when you grabbed that gun?" he snarled at me. He didn't wait for an answer, just kept going. "If you _ever_ grab a weapon from me or anyone else again and throw it I will wear your ass out with my belt right where you stand!" he told me as his hand kept rising and falling. "Do you understand me, Rivan Arlyn Langston?" he demanded loudly.

"Yes!" I sobbed out as I lifted my head to answer.

"Excuse me? What did you just say?" Sam snapped at me, his hand never pausing.

"Yes sir!" I shrieked, horrified that I'd forgotten. "Yes sir, I understand you!"

"Good. Now you get extra for forgetting to say it in the first place!"

"NOOOOOO!" I bawled at him. "Please Sam, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! No more, please!" Of course I was ignored and got the extra he promised me. Though I'm not sure when the extra started or when it ended, because Sam didn't say anything else as he spanked me. He ignored every pitiful sob and every desperate plea that I issued and soon all I was doing was crying my heart out. Finally the end of my punishment rolled around, but he focused entirely on my sit spot during the last few minutes of the spanking and, by the time he finally stopped, I was wailing across his lap like the naughty child I'd been acting like downstairs.

Sam rested his hand on my back as I cried and after a moment he spoke. "You're gonna apologize to Bobby for gouging a hole in his wall like some spoiled little brat having a tantrum," he informed me. "Is that clear?"

"Y-y-yes s-s-sir!" I sputtered out as my backside throbbed painfully.

"Good. And you're gonna help me patch it up later too. Got it?"

I swallowed hard and tried to answer, but this time I choked and started to cough. But I did manage to choke out a pathetic "Yes sir" somewhere along the way, and the next thing I knew I was on my feet in front of Sam, standing between his legs. Still sobbing hard and loud, I placed both hands on his shoulders and only became aware that he was pulling my panties and jeans up when the material rubbed against my flaming butt.

"Owwww!" I moaned out between my tears as he tried to pull my jeans up. "Sam, no, it hurts!" I told him, and then I threw my arms around his neck and buried my face in the nook between his shoulder and his neck.

"Okay," he said softly as he wrapped his arms around my waist. "We'll leave them down for now," he added, which was fine with me. My panties were at least up and giving me decent cover. That was all I cared about right now. Well, that and getting some much needed comfort from the man that had just paddled my backside.

And I got it too. Sam held me tight and close as I sobbed, running one big hand up and down my back in that sweet, soothing way of his. He murmured gently to me as I cried, reassuring me that I was loved and forgiven. I stayed in his arms for quite a while, and when my tears had slowed down to almost nothing and my sobbing had turned to an occasional whimper I pulled back, rubbing at my eyes in what I knew was a childish manner. I didn't care though, and I still didn't care that I was standing there with my jeans still pulled down to my knees.

Sam patted my back as I sniffled, and I kept my eyes focused on his chest. "You want these back up now?" he asked softly, reaching down and tugging gently on my jeans.

I shook my head quickly. "No sir," I said in a small voice, still not looking at him.

"Okay," he said, and then caught my chin and gently forced me to look at him. I felt my face turn red as I looked into his eyes, and then I closed mine as a few stray tears made their way down my cheeks. My eyes popped open again when Sam gently wiped them away, and when I looked at him again he placed a tender kiss on my lips. "Why don't you go ahead and take those jeans all the way off," he told me. "I want you to lie down and rest for a while and you'll be more comfortable if they're off."

I sniffled again and looked down. "But…I don't want to rest," I told him in a tiny, hesitant voice. "I'm not tired."

Sam was quiet for a moment. "You gonna start tellin' me lies now, Rivan?" he asked softly, and again he caught my chin and made me look at him.

My eyes went wide when they met his. "No sir," I said quickly. "But I'm really not…" My voice faded away as Sam slowly raised one eyebrow at me. Damn. "Never mind," I said in that tiny voice again, and I stepped back and began shoving my jeans down further. After a moment I realized that I would have to sit down on the edge of the bed to pull them off, and I dreaded that.

But I went ahead and did it anyway. Carefully I moved and carefully I sat down beside Sam, inhaling sharply when my spanked butt met the mattress. It was amazing how much fire he could bring about with just his hand. But then, he had a big hand and had a lot of big muscles backing that hand up. As I leaned down and began pulling my jeans off I wondered why I often thought I'd rather Sam spank me with his hand instead of his belt. His hand was powerful and always got my attention real quick. Obviously his belt hurt more, but his hand was nothing to scoff at. You'd think by now I'd remember that.

Anyway, I finally got my jeans all the way off, and not knowing what else to do with them I folded them neatly and placed them at the end of the bed. As soon as I had, Sam got up and pulled the covers back on the bed and then held his hand out to me.

"Come on," he told me. "Lie down and take a nap for a little while."

"How long is a little while?" I asked softly as I took his hand. He pulled me up carefully and then guided me closer before stepping back so I could crawl into the bed.

"At least an hour," he said in response to my question.

I had to fight hard to hold back a huffy sigh. I didn't want to stay in here by myself for a whole hour. But of course I didn't tell him that. "Yes sir," I said with a sigh and I crawled into the bed on my stomach. Sam pulled the covers over me as I buried my face in the pillow, and I felt him stroke my hair for a moment before dropping a kiss on my head.

"If you need anything just call," he told me.

I moved to where my cheek was resting on the pillow and peeked up at him. "Yes sir," I said again in a small voice.

He smiled and patted my back. "I love you Rivan," he told me quietly. "Even when you're misbehaving," he added.

I felt myself blush terribly, and I was glad he couldn't see my entire face. "I love you too," I whispered. Sam leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek, and then he straightened and headed for the door. He opened it and glanced back at me, and when our eyes met he smiled again. Only this time there seemed to be a touch of sadness in his smile. Before I could say anything about that he turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.

* * *

><p>The next few days that followed were frustrating for me. Despite the fact that the night of the meeting with James was coming fast, still no one said a word about any kind of plan. There were times when I felt so frantic about it all it felt like I was going to come right out of my skin. I wasn't the only one. Eden was just as stressed about it all as I was. Just like me, she wanted to go when the time came and fight against James and his vampire army. But just like Sam, Dean told her no every time she asked. One time she got so mad at him over it all she had herself quite a fit in the kitchen. Sam and I had been in there with them at the time. Eden had been arguing loud and hard with Dean about the whole ordeal, and finally he snapped.<p>

"Look sweetheart," he snarled at her as he pulled out a carton of eggs from the refrigerator. We were having a late breakfast while everyone else was off doing whatever they did around the house. "I am getting sick and tired of going over and over with you about this!" Dean continued as he carried the eggs over to the counter near the stove. He put them down and then turned to glare at Eden, who was glaring right back. "I don't want to hear about it anymore, Eden! If you so much as utter one more word about going with us, I swear to you I will blister your ass until you can't sit at all for an entire month! Am I making myself perfectly clear?" he asked loudly as he took a step toward Eden.

I was sitting at the kitchen table with Sam and tried to stand, intending to get between Eden and Dean, but of course Sam stopped me. Anyway, as I watched with worried eyes, I saw Eden lose a bit of color at Dean's roared question. When she answered him, however, her voice was loud and clear.

"Yes sir!" she snapped back at him as she clenched her fists.

"Good!" Dean said as he threw his hands up in the air. "I swear I have never met a more stubborn woman in all my life!" he raged as he turned and started toward the refrigerator again. "Other than that one over there!" he added as he slung a hand in my direction without looking at me. I stiffened and opened my mouth to snap back at him, but Sam caught my hand and gave it a warning squeezed. When I looked up at him he raised his eyebrows at me, making his silent order very clear. I sighed loudly and slumped back against my chair and watched Dean with dark eyes as he walked back to the refrigerator.

But as he walked I suddenly noticed Eden looking at me, and she had a peculiar look in her sky blue eyes. I frowned slightly at her and she gave me a tiny humorless smile.

And then, before I could even think of some kind of warning or action to stop her, she opened the egg carton on the counter, pulled an egg out, and threw it at Dean. Eden had played soft ball a lot growing up, and she had a wicked throw, meaning she could throw pretty hard. So when the egg slammed into the back of Dean's head the sound it made was loud and sharp, and I jumped in my chair. Then before anyone could say or do anything Eden had another egg in her hand, and she threw it just as Dean turned around, his eyes dark and the look on his face cringe worthy. My mouth fell open in shock when the second egg struck his forehead with a loud _SPLAT_!

Dead silence filled the kitchen. I watched with my hand over my mouth as Dean stood there with egg dripping down his face. I glanced at Eden and could see she was clearly wondering why she had thought her actions had been worth it. I looked over at Sam to see his eyes were wide and his mouth was open slightly as he watched a piece of egg shell slide down Dean's face and fall onto the front of his shirt.

Dean looked down at his shirt as well, and for a moment he just stood there and stared at it. Then slowly he looked back up at Eden, and in that instant I never felt sorrier for my friend. I opened my mouth with the intent of trying to talk to Dean and calm him down, but I never got the chance. Without a word he crossed the kitchen, grabbed Eden's hand, and marched her out and to the living room. Seconds later I heard them climbing the stairs, and then I heard a door open and slam shut.

Several minutes of silence followed, and I glanced nervously at Sam. He took a deep breath, shook his head, and shrugged as he leaned over to pick up the morning paper that had been left on the kitchen table. He opened it and flipped through a few pages until he found what he wanted and started to read. Moments later I suddenly heard a scream from upstairs, and automatically I shot out of my chair.

"Oh no," Sam said as he reached over and grabbed my hand. "Don't you dare. Sit down, Rivan, and stay out of it."

"But Sam I—"

"No Rivan!" he cut me off sharply. "Sit down! Now!" he ordered me, pointing at my chair. I stared at him for a moment before sitting back down, huffing loudly. I cringed when I heard Eden let loose with another scream, and then I bit my lower lip when she started to cry. I sat there and suffered through several minutes of listening to my friend scream and cry and beg, and finally I shoved my fingers through my hair and looked at Sam.

"Sam, he's beating her!" I moaned.

Sam sighed loudly and put the paper down. "No he's not, Rivan. He's giving her a well deserved, very memorable spanking. Now try to calm down. He's not killing her. She'll live." He got up before I could say anything, dropped a kiss on the top of my head, and went over to the stove where he began fixing the breakfast Dean had abandoned. I watched as he fried up eggs and bacon, and as he did I cringed and flinched at the sound of Eden's cries and her pleading with Dean to stop. I could even hear Dean's hand as he brought it down on her butt over and over, and I looked up at the ceiling.

The room Dean had taken her to, the one she and I were sharing, was right over the kitchen, and I was amazed at how much I could hear of Eden's spanking. "Bobby's house sucks," I complained. "The walls are too thin, and apparently so is the ceiling!" I said as I gestured up at it.

"Shhh," Sam murmured as he loaded a plate with eggs and bacon and brought it to me. I gave the food a dirty look and then jumped in my seat when Eden let out a particularly loud wail.

"Oh, why won't he stop?" I groaned, very much beside myself.

"He will in a minute," Sam told me as he brought his own plate over to the table and sat down beside me. "But what she did was pretty bad, Rivan," he added as he picked his fork up and began cutting up his eggs. "If you had done it to me you'd be in just as much trouble. Now eat your breakfast," he added as I looked at him with wide eyes.

I snorted very loudly. "Oh yeah right, sure! Like I'm in the mood to eat!"

Sam paused at that and looked over at me, both eyebrows raised and a stern look on his handsome face. "Excuse me?"

I flinched and cringed away from him. "I mean, yes sir," I said quickly as I grabbed my own fork.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Sam muttered as he went back to his breakfast. Thankfully after that I only had to suffer a few more minutes of listening to Eden's wails and cries before they finally stopped. But then after that I could hear her muffled cries, but on the positive side I could also hear Dean's voice every now and then as he soothed her. After a few more minutes of that complete silence took over, and I squirmed in my chair as I pushed the eggs around on my plate. I took a couple of bites but found I was too nervous and upset to eat, so finally I just shoved the plate away from me.

"Rivan, you should eat more than that," Sam told me as he glanced at my plate, which was still half full.

"But Sam!" I whined like a five year old. "I don't really like fried eggs!" I told him as I leaned over and laid my head on his shoulder. "Please don't make me eat anymore," I added pitifully as I hid my face against his shoulder.

"Okay," Sam said with a sigh as I sniffled. "You don't have to eat anymore if you don't want it. But help me clean up the kitchen, will you?" he asked softly as he dropped a kiss onto my head. I really didn't want to help clean the kitchen up but I did anyway, and by the time we were done we finally heard Dean coming downstairs. Minutes later he came into the kitchen and I looked up at him. His hair was egg free and he had changed into a clean shirt.

"Where's Eden?" I asked him, trying not to sound snappy.

"She's resting," Dean told me shortly as he went to the refrigerator and pulled the door opened. He dug around until he found some lunch meat and without looking at me or Sam he went to the counter and began making a sandwich for himself. Apparently deciding it would be best to leave him alone for now, Sam took my hand and led me out of the kitchen and to the living room. The rest of the day passed by quietly with nothing else shocking or interesting happening. The next few days that came along were the same. Then the biggest thing that had happened since we'd been there startled everyone out of their quiet thoughts.

Eden and I were sitting on the couch in the living room one afternoon, and Missouri was sitting in a chair across from us. Everyone else was down in the basement discussing the plan to take down James and his vampires. The fight was three days away and just last night I had finally figured out that Sam, Dean, and the rest of the hunters had been discussing strategies and thoughts on the best way to handle the fight in the basement all this time. They had been doing this at night when Eden and I were sleeping. The only reason why I found out is because last night when I couldn't sleep I had gotten up to make myself some tea. On my way to the kitchen I'd heard the voices coming from the basement, and of course I had gone down there to check things out.

They'd all been standing around a table, and spread out on the table was a map of Sioux Falls that included the cemetery. Sam, Dean, and Bobby had been having a heated discussion about the best way to sneak into the cemetery. Sam and Dean wanted to go at it from the South side, and Bobby thought they ought to stay more to the East side. I didn't get to hear anymore though because at that moment Sam had suddenly turned and saw me standing there watching with my mouth open and my eyes wide.

As you can probably guess I had been firmly escorted out of the basement by Sam. I had known that he had been planning on chewing me out and I thought he may have even been planning on giving me a quick spanking but once we had climbed the basement stairs and he had marched me into the kitchen, I had started to cry. Mainly because I didn't want him to scold me and I certainly didn't want him to spank me. But I had also cried because I was frustrated by the fact that I couldn't have anything to do with what was going on down in the basement. Sam wouldn't tell me a thing about it and he had warned me not to go down there again. I had still been crying when he was done issuing that order, and thankfully instead of a spanking I got a soft, warm hug and several kisses before he had made me that cup of tea I had originally come down for.

Once I was done Sam had taken me straight back upstairs and had actually gone into the room with me and walked me over to my cot that had been set up for me. He'd stood there and watched as I had crawled back into bed, and once I was in he had pulled the covers over me. Before he had left he'd warned me again not to ever go down to the basement, and he had promised that if he ever caught me down there again I would go directly over his knee for a damn good spanking. Ugh.

Of course this morning I had told Eden about what I found out, but apparently the spanking Dean had given her had been hard enough to get through to her, because she didn't mention a thing about it to him. I had learned that when Dean had spanked her he had not done so just because she threw eggs at him. He had also done it because she had been relentless in her determination to be allowed to fight with everyone else. Eden had told me that Dean had warned her not to ask again or he would take his belt to her. So because of such a serious promise she had not whined or pleaded to be included in the frequent meetings that were being held down there. Me, on the other hand, asked pretty much throughout the day, and I had already gotten scolded a lot as a result, though I never did get spanked. The group went in and out of the basement all day, and every time Sam and Dean had gone down there with them to work on their plans, Eden and I had to stay upstairs with Missouri.

And that's what we were doing on that afternoon that startled everyone. Eden and I were quiet as we sat on the couch, and Missouri had taken a book out and was reading. Nobody wanted the TV on and no one was in the mood to talk. Every once in a while I could hear raised voices coming from the basement, and I'd sit up straight and look in that direction, feeling both nervous and angry.

"Easy darlin'" Missouri murmured to me once when I turned around on the couch and put my knees on the seat so I could see the basement door better. "You know Sam doesn't want you down there," she reminded me gently.

"Yeah I know," I said with a huff as I turned back around and faced the woman across from me. "But it's not fair, Missouri!" I added in a moan. "I'm a part of this! I should be able to fight too! And so should Eden!"

"Yeah we really should," Eden spoke up, and it was the first time she had really voiced an opinion on the matter. Well, since Dean had spanked her, anyway.

Missouri sighed deeply and smiled softly at us. "I know how you feel," she assured us. "But you know where Sam and Dean stand on that. You can't change their minds. Surely you two must know that," she added as she watched us.

Eden sighed deeply and looked down, and I made a face. "Yeah, but still," I said in my stubborn way. "They're being stupid."

Before Missouri could say anything to that, the sound of footsteps suddenly arose behind us. Eden and I turned to see Sam and Dean coming out of the basement, and the others followed. Sam was in the lead and I studied his face as he made his way toward me. He looked seriously pissed off but resigned, and if I had not known better I would have thought I was about to get a spanking. But I knew I hadn't done anything wrong lately so I watched calmly as Sam came and sat beside me on the couch. Everyone else kind of crowded in around the room, and that part did make me nervous.

"Baby," Sam said before I could ask what was going on. "We need to talk," he told me as he gently took my hand in his.

"About what?" I asked cautiously as I looked at him and tried to ignore everyone else.

He smiled softly at me and reached out to touch my cheek. "We need something from you," he said. "And I really need you to cooperate and not ask any questions."

Okay, so consider me officially freaked out. But I tried not to show it. "What do you need from me?" I asked, not promising anything at the moment.

For a moment Sam didn't say anything. "A little bit of your blood," he finally answered quietly, and my eyes went wide as I stared at him.

Now I could feel my head swimming and my mind racing. "My blood?" I repeated as though he had asked me for a whole arm. "You mean you want to _cut_ me?" I demanded as a gross mental picture of all the different knives that I knew Sam and Dean had flashed through my mind.

Instantly Sam's eyes went huge and he quickly pulled me into a tight hug. "No!" he said as he stroked my hair. "No baby, of course not! No, we don't have to cut you to get it. I would never let that happen," he assured me. "We're just gonna draw some blood, like they do at hospitals. I'm sorry baby, I didn't exactly start my explanation out right. Don't be scared," he added as I started to tremble. "Ellen's gonna do it and she knows what she's doing."

"I promise it won't even hurt, honey," I heard Ellen say, and I peeked over Sam's shoulder to see her step forward. In one hand she held a needle and tourniquet; in the other she held a tube, as well as a little bottle to hold my blood.

"Yeah Rivan," Jo said from beside her mother. "Mom's real good at it. You won't even feel a pinch."

I looked at her sharply and wondered how the heck she knew, but decided not to ask. Instead I pushed myself out of Sam's arm and stared at Ellen before looking back at Sam. "Why would you need my blood? What are you going to do with it?" I asked, not caring that he had told me not to ask questions.

Sam let out a little sigh and shook his head at me. "You need to trust me right now, Rivan," he told me gently. "Please, baby. We need your blood to help in the fight against James."

"But _why_?" I asked loudly. "If you're gonna go suck blood out of me I deserve to know why!"

"Shhh," Sam said as he took my hand again and brought it to his lips. He kissed the back of it tenderly and then looked up at me. "It'll help weaken James," he told me as he reached out to stroke my cheek with the back of his fingers.

"Weaken him?" I echoed. "But how? And why? And how did you find this out?" I asked, firing one question after another at him.

Sam sighed deeply and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again and looked at me, I flinched. It wasn't anger that I saw but pain and frustration. "Rivan, do you remember what I once told you about trusting me and listening to me in this kind of situation, even if what I'm asking you to do doesn't make sense?" I sighed and nodded. "That's what you need to do right now, baby. You know I would never ask you to do anything that would cause you harm. All we need from you is a little blood. It won't actually weaken James per say, but it will help us take him down eventually."

"But Sam, I want to know what you're going to use it for!" I insisted. Before Sam could say anything to that a loud voice suddenly let loose with a string of terrible curse words. Sam turned in time to see Russell, the scary hunter, shove his way forward while I watched with huge eyes.

"To hell with all this coddling!" he snarled as he fixed his freaky, light blue eyes on me. "I'll get the damn blood myself!" And then to my complete horror the man pulled a long, sharp knife from his belt.

Everything that happened next seemed to play out fast and harsh. Sam shot to his feet and suddenly I felt someone grab me from behind. Seconds later I realized it was Dean, which was interesting because he had been standing close to Sam only a second ago. I hadn't even seen him come around behind me. But anyway he hauled me off the couch and drug Eden with us, and he shoved us across the room to the nearest wall. Once there he pinned us to the wall by turning his back to us and leaning against us, and he stood there guarding us with a gun ready in his hand.

While this had all been happening there had been a lot of shouts, cussing and some screams coming from everyone else in the room. Annoyed and scared because I couldn't see anything that was going on, I shoved at Dean's back but of course he didn't move an inch. "Dean!" I yelled at him. "Move! I can't see, get out of the way!"

"Rivan!" he yelled back at me. "Shut up and stay put!"

"NO!" I shouted back. Beside me Eden cringed and looked at me, shaking her head. I ignored her. "What's going on, Dean? Is Sam okay? Move so I can see!"

"No, damnit!" Dean growled. "Stay where you are!" I let out a little yell of anger, and for a moment I considered biting him, but I thought better of it. But finally after a few seconds of stubborn and persistent squirming I was able to peer out from behind Dean and take in the situation.

All the shouting and cussing had stopped. No one was making a sound. No one was moving either. There, standing in the middle of the living room, was Sam and Russell. My eyes nearly popped out of my head at what I was seeing. Sam was standing there, looking as cool and as calm as he could, and he had a gun in his hand too. And he had the barrel of that gun pressed right against Russell's forehead. The big man was standing there staring at Sam like he couldn't believe his eyes. As he stood there in shock Sam spoke, and his voice was cold and clipped. "If you so much as blink, I'll drop you where you stand," he told the hunter, and I knew there was no doubt in anyone's mind that he would.

Russell didn't move an inch, and no one else did for a few minutes. Then finally Bobby stepped up, looking a little uneasy himself as he watched Sam. "Okay, everyone just back off," he ordered, but Sam didn't move. "Sam," Bobby said carefully. "I'd really rather you didn't shoot him. I hate blood in my house," he added, and I nearly snorted. I was willing to bet plenty of blood had made an appearance in the past at Bobby's house. But I guess that didn't mean he'd liked it.

Sam still didn't move, and he never took his eyes off of Russell. Then Dean moved slightly and blocked my view, and I almost went ahead and bit him. "Dean!" I whined at him. "You're in the way! And you're squishing me!"

"Yeah, don't forget about me," Eden spoke up. "I'm back here too!"

"Stay still and shut up!" Dean ordered us, and before we could say anything there was a loud thud. Scared that something may have happened to Sam, I reached out, stuck my hand under Dean's shirt, and pinched the crap out of him in an attempt to get him to move. I had to give him credit. He didn't move too much, just a little. But it was enough, and I shoved my way out from behind him and ran forward before he could stop me. He swore at me but I didn't pay any attention. I was watching what was going on in surprise because Bobby had jerked Russell away from Sam and now had him pinned to the wall.

"Hell Russell, I always knew you were a little crazy, but I never took you for stupid!" Bobby snapped as he kept the hunter still with a strong hand at his throat. The fact that Sam and Dean still had guns pointed at Russell helped. "Only a stupid idiot would threaten a woman that belongs to a Winchester!" Bobby continued with his rant. "You just don't do it! That's common sense in our world! At least it is for most of us! Damn you Russell! I don't know if I should kick you out or just let Sam shoot you!"

Russell, who had kept his eyes on Sam, glanced at Bobby for the first time. "You need me if you want to win this fight," he told him, and his voice was cold and deep, raspy and sharp. "I can take out half of the vampires for you before the main one would even know what's going on. So kill me or kick me out. In doing so you damn yourself and everyone else. There won't be anyone left to protect your precious Winchester women. Is that what you want?" he demanded as he glared at Bobby.

Everyone was still as they watched and waited. Shivering, I took a few steps forward toward Sam, intending on moving around to stand beside him. But I had barely begun to move when Sam suddenly moved to the side, completely blocking my way and shielding me from Russell at the same time. Surprised, I reached out and clutched at the back of Sam's shirt, eager to touch him in some way. I felt Sam stiffen when I did, and I flinched and let him go. He had never responded to my touch like that. I stayed where I was, battling with my silly hurt feelings as everyone else held their breath.

Finally I heard Bobby swear and I peeked around Sam from the other side to see what was going on. Bobby had let Russell go, and the scary hunter was standing there rubbing his neck where Bobby had squeezed just a little too hard. "You watch your step from now on," Bobby warned him. "And you stay away from both of those girls! If you're stupid enough to threaten either one of them again and you get shot for it, don't come cryin' to me! That is if you're lucky enough to still be alive!"

With that Bobby turned and stomped his way toward the basement. Moving almost as quick and quietly as a shadow, Russell disappeared as well, though he did not follow Bobby. The other two hunters, Marshall and Brad, went to the basement as well, and soon there was only Ellen and Jo left with us. And of course Missouri, who had stayed silent through the whole thing.

Sighing quietly, Sam lowered his gun and then tucked it in the back of the waistband of his jeans. I realized at that point that I hadn't even known he had it there to begin with. Once he had it safely tucked away he turned to me and, without a word, reached out and got me by the arm. He pulled me to him and then stared down at me. "Are you okay?" he demanded.

I stared up at him, and as I did tears filled my eyes and started to roll down my cheeks. "Yes sir," I whispered as I fought against the urge to cry harder. At that moment Sam looked scary and he seemed to be mad at me. I started to cry a little harder, and he softened.

"Good," Sam said, and then he pulled me into a warm hug. "Ellen," he suddenly said as he gave me a gentle squeeze.

"Right," I heard Ellen say, and then I felt her hand on my arm. "Come on, honey. Let's get that blood drawn, okay?"

I didn't fight and I didn't argue. Feeling a bit numb, I let Ellen lead me to the kitchen. Sam followed, as did Eden and Dean. Ellen had me sit at the kitchen table, and I stayed still and quiet as she drew my blood like a professional nurse. She'd been right when she'd said it wouldn't hurt at all. When she was done and she had the little bottle full of my blood, she glanced at Sam.

"It should be enough," she told him. "I'll keep it safe with me," she added, and Sam nodded. "Well now that we've got that done, I'm going back down to the basement," she said to no one in particular. "I need to look at a few things on that map. Jo, come help me," she added to her daughter, who had followed as well and was leaning against the wall, watching.

"Why?" Jo asked her mother. "You know how to read a map."

Ellen looked up at her sharply. "Don't you get smart with me, Joanna Beth!" she warned in her best _I'm-your-mother-and-you-damn-well-better-listen _tone.

Jo sighed and rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine! You don't have to get grouchy!"

"Apparently I do!" Ellen shot back as the two women left the kitchen. Their arguing faded into nothing as they went down into the basement, leaving me alone with Sam, Dean, and Eden. But only seconds after Ellen and Jo had left Dean was tugging on Eden's hand, leading her out of the kitchen as well.

"Come on sweetheart," he told her as she gave him a confused look. "I think Sam and Rivan need to be alone," he added, and I looked up in surprise. Sam had taken the seat across from me while Ellen had been drawing my blood, and now he was watching me with intense eyes. Crap. He was obviously mad at me for some reason, just like I had thought earlier. He didn't say anything as Dean and Eden left, and when they were gone he still stayed silent. I flinched under his hard stare and began twisting my fingers together nervously. I didn't know what to say so I said nothing as Sam watched me. Finally he sighed and leaned back a little in his chair, propping one elbow on the table while he rested his free hand on his leg.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked me quietly.

"Yes sir," I told him again. "I am. Just a little shook up, that's all," I added.

He sighed again and nodded. "Okay," he said as he rubbed his eyes for a moment. "Then I want you to listen very closely to everything I'm about to say. Do not interrupt. Is that clear?"

My eyes went wide and I swallowed hard. I had a feeling I wasn't going to like what he was about to say very much. "Yes sir," I said very softly.

"Good," he said, and his tone was hard and angry. Suddenly he leaned toward me, his eyes flashing. "If a situation like what just happened ever comes up again, and Dean has you somewhere safe and protected, you damn well better stay where he puts you and you better listen to everything he tells you to do! Don't you ever put yourself out in the middle of danger like that again! I may have had a gun on Russell, but the man is crazy and he has been known to pull stunts only he could dream of when in a tight spot! That situation could have turned into a fight in a heartbeat! And what do you do? Come and try to stand right beside me, and then try to grab onto me when I deliberately blocked you _for a reason_! If Russell had made some kind of crazy move he's known for you could have been seriously hurt, Rivan! Don't you _ever_ pull that kind of shit again! You stay where it's safe and don't move until I tell you to, or until Dean does! _AM I MAKING MYSELF PERFECTLY CLEAR, RIVAN_?"

Sam finished his raging speech with a bellow and shot out of his chair, taking a step toward me. I had frozen in horror when he'd started talking, and I hadn't moved a muscle or cried at all while he chewed me out. Now that he was done though, and towering over me looking rather pissed off, I went ahead and just burst into tears.

"Yes sir!" I wailed loudly as I sobbed. "I'm sorry, Sam! I was s-s-scared and was just trying to get t-t-o you because I was afraid that y-y-you were gonna get hurt!"

"I don't care, Rivan!" Sam snarled at me. "I do not care! I know how to handle myself in that kind of situation! I'm more likely to come out of something like that alive than you are! I've done it for years! You on the other hand haven't and obviously you don't understand that type of situation! That's where listening to other people who know what they're doing comes into play!"

"I'm sorry!" I moaned. "I'm sorry, I was just scared, Sam! I'm sorry, please stop yelling at me!" I begged him pitifully.

"You deserve to be yelled at, Rivan!" he snapped at me. "And you deserve to have your ass whipped with the belt, too!"

"NO!" I shrieked, and I came out of my chair and ran to him, throwing my arms around his middle. "Please don't Sam!" I sobbed as I hid my face against his chest. "Please don't spank me, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm just so scared! I'm scared Sam and I don't know what to do! I'm scared, please don't be mad at me anymore!" I wailed terribly.

For a moment Sam didn't move, and then finally he gave in and I felt his strong arms wrap around me. I whimpered and clung tightly to him as I sobbed. We stood like that for a few minutes and then Sam moved back toward his chair, taking me with him. I let go of him so he could sit down, and as soon as he had he pulled me to him and then picked me up and plopped me down on his left leg. I leaned into him and wrapped my arms around his neck and continued to cry, and he held me so tenderly while stroking my hair and talking quietly to me.

We stayed like that for a long time, and eventually I fell asleep in his arms.

* * *

><p>Much to my amazement Sam didn't spank me for what I'd done during the Russell situation. I could tell Dean was mad about that but I got another shock when he didn't say anything about it to Sam. Well, at least he didn't at first. But a few days later I finally heard the argument. And I also heard something shocking that would later change the outcome of the battle against James and his vampire army.<p>

Everyone had just come up from the basement after yet another meeting, and they were all heading toward the kitchen. But I noticed that Sam and Dean hadn't come up with everyone else, and of course Eden had noticed too. Curious, we hung back a little, getting as close to the basement as we could. Unfortunately Missouri noticed and motioned to us to follow her into the kitchen. Eden did so after heaving a loud sigh, and Missouri turned and left, assuming I would follow too. But I didn't, and after a few minutes of standing there and waiting no one came out to check on me and insist I come into the kitchen. Down below in the basement I could hear Sam and Dean talking, and I could tell they were arguing.

Because there was so much noise coming from the kitchen I had to dare to go down a few steps that led to the basement, and I prayed I wouldn't get caught. Further down I could still hear Sam and Dean, and thankfully they had moved back to the furthest corner of the basement to have their argument. That made it less likely that I would get caught, and I could still hear everything perfectly because they weren't exactly being quiet. I stood there not moving a muscle as I listened, and of course Dean's voice was the loudest.

"What the hell do you think you're doing with Rivan, Sam?" he demanded of his younger brother.

I heard Sam sigh loudly and let loose with a few curse words. "What are you talkin' about, Dean?" he snapped back, sounding mad and tired.

"You know what I'm talkin' about! You're back to letting her get away with some of the crazy things! You're not spanking her for anything, and she's earned more than one spanking since we've been here!"

"I spanked her for throwing that gun and knocking a hole in Bobby's wall," Sam reminded him with a growl.

"Well whoop-dee-do!" Dean exploded, and I couldn't help but find his choice of words funny, though of course I didn't laugh out loud. "Big deal, Sam! Look at what she did the other day with Russell! She pinched the shit out of me so she could get away and try to get in the middle of it!"

"So you shouldn't have moved!" Sam roared at him, taking me by surprise. "So she pinched you! So what! You've had worse injuries than that, Dean! Are you really gonna stand there and bitch about a woman giving you a little pinch?"

"She dug her damn fingernails into me!" Dean snarled.

"So what! Boo hoo! Surely you could have stood there and taken that small amount of pain!"

Dean swore loudly and violently then, and I was shocked that he hadn't hauled off and punched Sam. I was glad he didn't, but still shocked that he remained so controlled. "You know what, forget the fact that she almost took a chunk out of my side. That's not what this is about! This is about her getting away from me and being stupid and trying to get between you and that freaky lunatic! I heard you say it yourself when you were chewing her out about it in the kitchen! Russell is on the deep end of insane and Rivan could have been killed if he had made any of his crazy moves! I don't even know why Bobby let him stay, for crying out loud!"

"Because we need him," Sam said simply, and now he sounded just plain tired instead of mad and tired.

"I don't care!" Dean bellowed. "I don't like him and I don't want him in the house! So help me if he even looks at Eden wrong I'm gonna shoot him right between his freaky looking eyeballs! But that's not the point here either! The point is you didn't correct Rivan at all in any way, other than to chew her out! You know that alone doesn't work on her! This started way back when we were still in Maine, and you know it! She opened that damn window and almost got herself _and_ Eden killed when that man came out of nowhere and attacked! Sam, you're letting her get out of control! If you don't start crackin' down on her she's gonna get herself killed and maybe everyone else with her! Damnit Sam, I don't know what goes through you head sometimes, I could just—"

Dean was suddenly interrupted by the sound of glass shattering violently against a wall, and then Sam snarled out several dark words before slamming his fist down on something hard. I jumped so badly I almost rolled down the stairs, but I managed to stop myself by grabbing onto the railing, and with my heart pounding wildly I slowly sank down onto one of the steps and sat there and listened. I had never heard Sam react like that before and it scared me.

"You know what Dean?" Sam said when he was done with his string of hair curling cursing. He was talking calmly now, and after such an outburst that calm tone was scarier than if he had yelled. "It isn't always that simple. I can't always just haul that woman over my knee and spank her. In most cases I can, but in some cases I can't. This is one of those cases. Two days from now we're gonna go out to that cemetery and we're gonna fight a vampire King and all his followers. Now I admit we've got a lot of strong people on our side and that's gonna be a lot of help, but the simple fact of the matter is we're _gonna be out numbered_! There's no getting around that! You know every time we go into a fight there's going to be a chance that one or both of us won't make it out alive. In some situations that's more likely than others. Unfortunately this is one of those situations where the risk is higher. You can't reasonably argue against that no matter how much you want to!"

Sam paused for a moment and remarkably Dean remained quiet. After another few moments of intense silence Sam continued. "My point here is…I might not make it back alive. There's a strong chance I won't. If that happens and someone asks Rivan what her last big memory of me is, I don't want her to say that I tanned her ass for her before I left to fight."

Another heavy silence filled the room, only to be broken by Dean's own spout of snarly cursing. Sam didn't interrupt it and it went on for a moment or so. When it finally faded Sam spoke again. "So there you go. Now you know why I'm letting a lot of stuff go right now as far as Rivan is concerned. But that's just it. I'm letting it go _for now_. I'm not _forgetting_ it. Any of it. But right now I need to focus on this fight coming up. When it's over and everything is okay and everyone is okay, then I'll focus on Rivan and what's she's done. She won't get away with any of it completely. I can promise you that."

As I sat there on that step and listened I shivered at Sam's tone when he said that. I really could have missed hearing that part. Oh well. I guess that's what I get for listening in when I'm not supposed to.

Dean didn't say anything to Sam's promise, and again silence fell between the two. Seconds later, it was broken once more, but not by Sam or Dean. "I'm sure your brother means what he says," Castiel's voice suddenly rang throughout the room. Dean swore loudly and even Sam muttered a few more words at the Angel's sudden appearance.

"Damnit Cas, why do you have to do that?" Dean grumbled at the Angel.

Sam's greeting was a bit nicer than Dean's. "Hey Cas," he said, sounding only mildly irritated but still tired. Maybe more so now. "Judging by that cheerfully serious face of yours, I'm gonna go ahead and guess you've got something new to tell us."

"Yes," Cas said in his calm, intense voice. "Sam, you have got to make absolutely certain that Rivan won't try to follow you when you and the others go to face James. It is imperative that she stay behind."

"What? Why?" Sam asked, and he no longer sounded tired or annoyed. His voice was strong and alert, as well as concerned.

"Yeah, what have you learned now?" Dean asked, his annoyance gone as well.

"She is the one thing that will make James strong again," Cas told them. "Or to be more precise, her blood will make him strong. If she and the ring end up in that cemetery together, it will give James power that we have not yet witnessed. This cannot happen. If it does, he will be almost impossible to defeat."

A few seconds of silence ticked by. "Wait, how do you know this?" Sam demanded, and for the most part his tone was calm, but I could hear the slight strain in it.

Cas was quiet for a moment. "I cannot tell you that right now. Do not argue!" he snapped when Dean started to protest. "I will tell you in time, but that time is not now. My information will only distract you both from the fight, and you cannot afford that. Sam, you need to make sure that Rivan understands, without a doubt, that she cannot go. It could ruin everything for us."

"Okay, but wait a minute," Sam said, now sounding frustrated. "You're saying that her blood will make him powerful. So powerful that we may not be able to win. A few days ago you told us that we needed her blood to help take James down! So which is it, Cas?"

"Both," the Angel replied, and the Winchester brothers groaned loudly. "The amount of blood that you took from Rivan the other day should be enough to distract James so you can take him down. He will—"

"Hang on," Dean interrupted this time. "It _should _be enough? Cas, you said it _would _be enough! What the hell? You can't show up and change the rules on us like this!"

"The rules have changed for me as well and I am trying to adapt to them," Cas snarled quietly. "I am trying to help you adapt too. Now shut up and listen to me!" I blinked in surprise at Cas' tone and leaned over a little, stupidly trying to get a better look at the Angel at least. Thankfully I didn't get what I was trying to achieve, and I leaned back and went back to being still as I listened.

"Fine," Dean snapped at Cas. "But you better make yourself clear, Cas! This is no time to be vague! We have a big fight coming our way and we need every advantage we can get!"

"That is what I'm trying to give you," Cas told him. "Now," he said with a quiet sigh. "With the blood that you have, paired with the ring, James can make a good attempt at performing the spell taught to him by Lenora. During this time he will be relying on the other vampires to keep you two and everyone else busy while he does this. But we do have some surprises that he won't be expecting. For one thing we have Russell. I know you two do not like him, and for good reason. But he is one of our advantages. Also James will not realize that the small amount of Rivan's blood will not give him the full power that he needs to win. That is our biggest advantage. That advantage _**cannot**_ be taken away. If we lose that then there is a good chance that we will lose this fight. That is why Rivan cannot be there. If she is there…if James has all of her blood at his disposal, that will be all that he needs to win."

Once Cas was done speaking the room was so silent you could literally hear a pin drop. The silence didn't last long though. "Okay," Dean said. "So too much of Rivan's blood is a total over kill, but the small amount we have is enough to give us a good shot at chopping this bastard's head off." I rolled my eyes. Ah Dean. You're so eloquent with your words.

"Correct," Cas replied. "Sam," he added. "Have you talked to Rivan and told her that she cannot come with you and the others?"

"Oh, only about fifteen million times," Sam said dryly, and I made a face.

"Then you have not gotten through to her," Cas snapped. "You need to get through to her. I don't care what it takes. If you cannot convince her to stay here on her own, you will have to force her to."

My mouth flew open at that and I swear I almost hollered out loud. But thankfully I was able to get control of myself at the last moment, and trembling with rage, I sat there and waited to see what Sam would say to that.

I listened closely as Sam took a deep breath. "You mean I'd have to lock her in the Panic room," he said quietly, and I jerked violently but somehow remained undetected.

"Yes," Cas answered back, his tone dead serious. "That is what I mean. I know you do not want to do that, but you will have to if you can't convince her to stay behind. It's a hard decision to make, but you will have to make it to ensure that you have the best chance of killing James. And you will have to make it if you want to come back alive, as well as everyone else that is going to follow you into this battle."

I expected another bout of silence after that one, but Sam answered rather quickly. "I know," he said, and there was dread in his voice. Well, at least he really didn't want to put me in that room. "I'll do what I can to convince her to stay behind on her own. I won't threaten her with the Panic room unless it's necessary, and I won't put her in there unless I have no other choice. But if she does have to go in there, Eden should be made to go too," Sam added, and my eyes nearly popped out of my head. "That way Rivan won't be in there all by herself. And Eden's just as likely to follow us as Rivan is anyway," he finished, and I knew he was looking at Dean when he said that.

"Yeah I know," Dean admitted reluctantly. "But Sam, I really, _really _don't want to lock her in there against her will."

"And you think I want to do that to Rivan?" Sam growled at him.

"No. I know you don't," Dean replied somewhat calmly. "We'll do it if that's the only option left to us, but Sam…you gotta get through to Rivan. I don't care if you have to put her over your knee and spank her until she's screaming her promise that she'll stay put! You _have_ to get through to her!"

"Yeah, I think I got that part," Sam said again in that wonderfully dry tone of his. "But are _you _sure that you've convinced Eden that she can't go?"

"Eden's not the biggest problem here. Rivan is," Dean reminded him. "But yes, I'm sure I've convinced her that she can't go. She hasn't said a word about it since I paddled her ass the other day when she threw those eggs at me," he added with a dark growl.

"Yeah well, you gotta admit, she's got a good arm on her," Sam said, still speaking dryly.

"Yeah, so do I," Dean snapped back. "She learned that the hard way. Little brat," he added in a mutter, and I couldn't help but smile a mean smile.

"Well anyway," Sam said with a deep sigh. "I'll see what I can do with Rivan. I pray I can get her to cooperate, but I can't promise anything."

"One way or another she will stay behind," Cas said, his tone flat and final. "I hope for your sake and hers that she chooses the easy way. I'll be back soon to check on you. If you need me just call for me." Silence followed the Angel's words, and when Dean swore I figured Cas had pulled his famous and seemingly favorite disappearing act, second only to his favorite and sudden 'here I am' appearing act.

"I _hate _it when he goes off like that!" Dean said, confirming my guess. "It's almost as bad when he suddenly pops up in front of your face!"

"Yeah well, what can you do about it?" Sam asked with a long, drawn out sigh that spoke volumes of how tired and stressed he was. If I hadn't been afraid of completely giving myself away I would have run down the stairs and thrown my arms around him in an attempt to ease his stress at least. But at that moment I'm afraid I had to be selfish and indulge in my desire to keep myself free of the fire Sam would set across my rear end if he found I was eavesdropping. I could find another reason later to offer him some comfort. In our situation it wouldn't be hard.

"Unfortunately nothing right now," Dean grumbled in response to Sam's question about Cas. "We need him. Come on," he suddenly said before Sam could say anything back. "Let's go see if we can get something to eat. Then later you can start in on convincing your sweet baby girl that she needs to stay put when it's time for us to go fight James and his jolly band of vampires."

Sam gave some kind of reply to that but I didn't hear it. I was too busy trying to get up and move as fast as I could while being totally quiet as I went. I somehow managed to pull it off, and I got out of the basement way ahead of Sam and Dean. But instead of going to the kitchen I turned and went upstairs to the room Eden and I were sharing.

Once there I started to get ready for bed. Though it was a bit too early for that, I just knew I couldn't go down stairs and sit in that kitchen and look innocent and unsuspecting. I had heard too much to keep the shock and the fear out of my eyes. Sam would see through any pretense I offered up and before the night was over he'd find out I had heard everything and I'd end up over his knee anyway. So the best thing for me to do was simply crawl into bed and think things over quietly.

But I had a lot to think about. Sam felt there was a good chance that he might not make it out of this fight alive. That thought alone dominated my mind and tortured my heart, and I had to fight long and hard to get some level of control over myself. Once I had I forced myself to move onto the next thought. Dean had said that they needed all the advantages that they could get in this fight against James. I had very much wanted to be counted as one of those advantages, but the direct opposite had occurred. In Dean's mind, and even in Sam's, I was a disadvantage. A very serious one. This frustrated and angered me, because I was convinced they were so wrong.

Even with the knowledge that my presence would give James all the power he needed to win, I knew that there was one catch to it all. And it wasn't even one that anyone else had thought about yet. There were eight highly trained and very intelligent hunters in this house and one physic, and they now all knew the story of James and Lenora. But still this little catch had escaped everyone's attention. I found it kind of funny that no one else had spotted this catch of mine. I had tried to share it with Sam several times, but he had refused to listen every time. And I was so certain and sold on that catch. I truly believed with all my heart that it would work, that it would be the one thing that would keep James from taking another person, whom I loved with all my heart and soul, away from me.

And because of that pure belief, that desperate desire to hold onto Sam, I began making my secret plans. James would fall, and I alone held the key to his demise.

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><p><strong>AN: Okay that's it for now, but like I said chapter 17 will be up soon. I hope you all liked this chapter, and if you have a moment please leave a review! Thank you for reading and thank you for your support! Love ya all! :-)**


	17. Before the Storm

**A/N: Okay, here is chapter seventeen, finally! I had intended to put it up before now but life got in the way. Sorry about that everyone. Anyway, this chapter begins the very next morning after Rivan heard the conversation between Sam, Dean, and Castiel. And you get to see her crazy plans develop and a whole bunch of other stuff. Yay! Again if I wrote the layout of Bobby's house wrong, sorry about that. Okay, I can't think of anything else to add, other than to let you know that I don't know when I'm going to get chapter eighteen up. It's the battle chapter and I'm always nervous about writing that kind of thing, so it will take longer than usual to write. **

**So anyway, please forgive any mistakes you may find while reading. Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter, as always I love seeing what my readers think. Okay, shutting up now! Hope you like this new chapter! Happy reading!**

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><p>The night had melted into the next morning, and I had gotten very little sleep. At some point during the early hours of the night Sam had come in to check on me since I had not come down for dinner. He had stood in the doorway and called gently to me, but I'd kept my back to him and pretended to be asleep. After a few minutes of standing there, he had finally sighed and closed the door. Not long after that Eden had come in to get ready for bed and had tried to wake me up too, but I had remained still and silent. After a while she gave up and got into bed herself and had turned out the lights.<p>

Now I was lying with my back still to the door and Eden, facing the window and watching the sun slowly climb higher into the early morning sky. I could tell just by looking that it was going to be cold today. Sam, Dean, Eden and I had spent most of the summer months in Maine, and the cold months had snuck in on us. It was already the middle of October, and that time of the year brought some serious cold snaps to South Dakota.

But I digress. As I said I had spent most of my night working on my secret plans, but much to my great annoyance I had come up with very little. And here I thought I was so smart and was just going to solve everything in one night! Ha. There was one thing I had made a firm decision on, though. When I made my move, I would do it without my very best friend in the whole world. I wasn't going to breathe a word of anything that I had learned to Eden, and I certainly wasn't going to tell her I was making plans to follow Sam and the others tomorrow night when they set off to face James. When it was all said and done and we all got back safely, Eden would probably be mad at me for a while for not including her. But I felt that I had put her in too much danger already. If I allowed her to go along with me on this, it would be a very selfish decision on my part. She had to be kept safe, and in order to do that she had to be kept in the dark. I could only pray that in time she would come to understand my decision and forgive me for it.

Right, so that was decided. No going back on that, no matter how much I wanted to. Another thing I knew I would have to do was convince Sam that I would willingly stay behind when it was time for them to march off to war. I was truly dreading that, and right now that was the one thing that was scaring me and no doubt keeping me from properly planning out my own strategy for this fight.

As I've mentioned several times before, I have never been able to look Sam in the eye and lie to him without him knowing it. Never ever, not even once. I've never even come close to pulling it off. But this time, somehow, I would have to do it. If I didn't I'd end up locked in the Panic room, and Eden would be put in there with me. Then my intentions to protect and save Sam, along with all of the other people that I cared about, would go down the drain. By this point I thoroughly believed that I was the only one that could save them all, so I would have to be successful in delivering my lie to Sam when the time came. I could do it. I _would_ do it.

Right, another thing decided. If I stayed confident, I could carry it out easily. And when push came to shove I can be the most confident woman you'll ever meet. Yippee skippy for me, right? Yeah, I rule. Okay, getting off track here. Back to my preparations. I realized that leaving Bobby's place would be the least of my worries. Once everyone was gone, sneaking out of the house wouldn't be a problem. I would only have to get by two people at that point; Missouri and Eden. And by then they would never suspect that I was even daring to plan anything. At that thought I felt a terrible twinge of guilt stab me in the chest. Dang, I was _so _going to deserve the spanking I'd get for this. Crap, did I really just think that? Ack! Never would I admit it to anyone!

Okay, back to my plans. I stayed there in bed for another whole hour and thought and thought. And in the end I got…nada. Zip. Zero. Zilch. Needless to say when I finally made myself get out of bed I was very disgusted with my lack of brain power. I didn't have much time to put my plans together and then carry them out. The meeting with James was tomorrow night, for crying out loud! Trying not to grumble and stomp around because Eden was still asleep, I gathered my clothes and things and got my shower done. I knew I held an ace where James was concerned; it was the just little things holding me up. How would I get to the cemetery? What would I do with James when I got him close enough to strike? Could I bargain to save everyone without the ring? As I stood in the bathroom and stared at my reflection while brushing my hair, I continued to try to come up with some ideas.

I left the bathroom without experiencing a stroke of genius. Whoever had said don't sweat the little things sure as hell never had to face a vampire king bent on world domination. Ugh! Minutes later I left the bedroom and by the time I got downstairs I still had nothing. When I reached the kitchen I was in a rather sour mood, but it got knocked out of me when a pair of strong arms suddenly wrapped themselves around me and held on tight. A bit startled, I looked up at Sam, who was standing there staring down at me with a soft smile on his handsome face. As soon as our eyes met though he frowned ever so slightly at me.

"Hey," he said as he reached up to stroke my cheek with the back of his hand. "You okay?"

I shrugged. "Sure," I said calmly as I caught his hand and pulled it down so I could drop a kiss onto his palm. His skin was soft and warm against my lips, and I caught that wonderful scent of his that I always found relaxing. "I didn't sleep very well last night," I added before I could think about it. "That's all." That at least was the truth, and I didn't have to worry about looking guilty as I said it.

"Oh?" he said, still frowning as he pulled his hand out of mine and caught my chin between his strong thumb and forefinger. He gently forced me to look up at him and instinct demanded that I resist, but I had to fight it because I knew if I did he would wonder why I didn't want to look him in the eye. "Why not?"

I shrugged again as I gazed up at him. "Lots of reasons," I replied casually. "There's plenty going on around here to worry about."

Sam sighed deeply and nodded. "That's true, unfortunately," he agreed, and he let go of my chin and leaned down to capture my lips with his. We shared a sweet kiss for a few moments and then we parted, and when I looked up at him again he was gazing at me with an intense, concerned look. "You do know everything's going to be okay, don't you?" he asked me quietly.

I shrugged for the third time as I looked down and fiddled with a button on his shirt. "Yeah, sure," I told him, and my tone wasn't very convincing. "I know that."

For a moment he didn't say anything as he stood there and watched me pull lightly at the button on his shirt. Then finally he caught my hand, making me stop, and then he got my chin again and made me look back up at him. "Rivan," he said as he watched me. "I need you to listen to me. Everything is really going to be okay. I need you to believe that. Do you?"

I sighed and closed my eyes for a moment. How could he say that to me when just last night I heard him tell Dean he thought that he might not make it out of the coming fight alive? I guess because that was just Sam. He would say anything to keep the agony of worry and fear from tearing me apart. And I could tell that a part of him truly believed that everything would be okay. But there was still that part of him that doubted a positive outcome. And that was yet another reason why I was going to go ahead and do what I had to in order to help him win this damn war with James. That vampire was going down. He would never bother anyone I loved, not ever again.

All of this rushed through my mind quickly, and when it was done I opened my eyes and looked up at Sam again. "I want to believe it," I said in answer to his question. "I want to believe it with all my heart. But I'm scared, Sam. This is all so serious. People could die. Dean could die. _You _could die," I added, and tears filled my eyes and I hated myself for saying that out loud.

"I know baby," he murmured gently as he gathered me in his arms again. "I know you're scared. I'll be honest with you. I'm scared too. But we've got a lot of good things going for us."

"Like what?" I asked softly as I rested my cheek against his chest. Maybe he would share some things with me and I wouldn't have to hide so much from him.

"Just things," he said, and I fought back a sigh. "My point is; we really do have a good shot. I know this is a hard thing to ask of you, but try not to worry so much about it. We're going to win this fight, and I'm going to come back to you when it's all over," he vowed.

Well that was something I could honestly agree with. Of course he was going to come back to me. I'd have it no other way. I was going to make this man came back to me. He may have said that there might be a chance he wouldn't come back, but he didn't know what I knew.

"I know you're going to come back to me," I told him, and I knew he didn't doubt that I believed that. Then I pulled back a little and looked up at him. "Because if you don't, I swear I will kick that overly perfect ass of yours all over the place. Even if you are in spirit form. And then I'll find a way to bring you back to life, and once I have I'll kick you very live overly perfect ass all over the place again, just so you can feel it for real," I added with a smug and confident little smile. Of course I had never been able to take the man down before, but hey, there's a first time for everything.

For a long moment Sam just stood there and stared down at me, blinking in surprise at my feisty and very serious words. Then slowly a smile crept across his wonderful face, and he threw his head back and laughed out loud. I rolled my eyes as he continued to laugh, and then I slapped him lightly on the arm when he kept it up.

"Stop laughing!" I ordered him, though I couldn't help but grin. "I'm not being funny. I'm being very serious!"

"Yeah, I know," he said as he calmed down a little. "That's why it's so funny!"

My eyes went wide at that and I scowled. "If I bite you, will I get in a lot of trouble?" I asked him.

He snorted and leaned down to press his forehead against mine. "Probably," he replied. "But there's a slight chance that I may like it," he added, and sheer wickedness dripped from his words and before I could respond he pulled me closer and laid a deep kiss on me that completely filled my mind.

I guess in a way it was a good thing that we were interrupted a few seconds later, because if we hadn't been there's no telling what might have happened. But still when Dean suddenly cleared his throat very loudly and obnoxiously I wanted nothing more than to go over to him and kick him in the shins. Hard.

"I really hate to disturb such an interesting moment, but we need Sam for a minute," Dean said, and when I pulled back and looked at him, he was standing there grinning like the annoying dork that he could be.

"Dean, go away," I told him, my tone grouchy. "We're busy."

Keeping his smile on, Dean shook his head. "Sorry honey. You're gonna have to hold that thought. Sam," he said, and when he looked at his brother his expression was nothing but serious. "I really am sorry, but we need you downstairs."

Sam sighed deeply and groaned a little as he gave me a squeeze. "Okay," he said reluctantly. "I'll be right there." For a moment Dean studied him, and then he nodded and left. Making a face, Sam looked down at me. I pouted up at him, and he smiled and chuckled a little. "You're so cute when you pout," he told me.

"I am?" I said with a grin. "Good. Remember that the next time I get in trouble," I told him. Unfortunately for me that time would come all too soon.

Sam smirked. "I'll see what I can do," he said. "But try not to get in trouble any time real soon, okay?" Before I could ever dream of a way to agree with that in a way that sounded like I meant it, Sam reached down and gave my butt a sharp slap that stung more than I cared for. I jumped and let out a little squeal, and then looked up at him with another pout that was a bit more serious than the first one.

Now Sam rolled his eyes at me. "Brat," he muttered as he reached back down to rub the offended area.

"Meanie," I shot back with a grin.

"Never!" he said as he gave me a mock look of disbelief. I narrowed my eyes at him and with another wicked grin he gave my butt a pinch this time, and I found that I didn't mind that sting as much. Hey, I'm allowed to have a frisky moment every now and then, aren't I?

I still slapped him on the arm though, for good measure, and I got a laugh out of that and another sweet kiss before he reluctantly let me go. "I'll be back as soon as I can," he told me as he started out of the kitchen. "Eat some breakfast," he added as he went. "You didn't eat any dinner last night. So don't go without eating anything this morning," he warned me.

"Whatever you say, daddy dearest," I sang with a smile, completely unconcerned with his warning.

He stopped and looked back at me. "Yeah, when I get back I'll show you daddy dearest," he told me.

My eyes went wide and my mouth dropped open in an over done display of shock and embarrassment. "Sam!" I hissed at him. "It would be totally inappropriate to whip that out with all these people in the house!" I couldn't help it. It was just dying to be said. I watched in delight as Sam's eyes got huge, and he stared at me in comical disbelief. I started to laugh. "I'm sorry, you just left yourself wide open!" I told him as I giggled.

"Or, at least, you wish I had," was his wicked reply. Then, shaking his head with a combined look of annoyance and amusement on his face, he added, "You sure are in a bratty, sassy mood this morning!"

I shrugged indifferently. "Hey, I gotta get my kicks somehow," I said as I turned toward the refrigerator. "Now hurry along to your meeting," I added as I opened the fridge door and bent down to study the items on the second shelf. "You wouldn't want to be late, now would you?" I asked as I contemplated the jug of orange juice sitting next to the eggs. As I did I felt a sudden sting across my butt again, and I howled and jumped. "Ooooouch, Saaaaaaam!" I whined as I spun around to face him. He was standing right behind me of course, and he grinned, grabbed me, gave me another mind spinning kiss, let me go, and then was gone before I could say or do anything.

For a moment I just stood there and stared after him, my mouth hanging open. Then I recovered, smiled a silly little smile, and turned back to the refrigerator as I tried to rub the sting out of my buns.

"Meanie," I mumbled again as I hauled the orange juice out of the fridge. I carried it to the counter and got a glass out of the cabinet, which thankfully was low enough for me to reach as long as I stood on my tip toes. As I filled the glass with juice all too soon the warm, wonderful glow that my playful moment with Sam had given me began to fade as those terrible, serious thoughts invaded my mind again. By the time I sat down at the kitchen table with my juice I was once again immersed in my worries and the pressing need to put a decent and logical plan together before tomorrow night.

Because, if I didn't, there was a good chance I would never have another wonderful moment like that with Sam again. The thought made me sick, and I sat there and cried quietly by myself right there in that small, lonely kitchen.

* * *

><p>The day went by faster than I thought possible. One moment I was wandering around the house, trying desperately to think of plans for tomorrow night, and the next thing I knew the day had ended and I was in bed, and I still had nothing planned. I got a total of three hours of sleep that night.<p>

I got up very early the next morning, before the sun even came up. Quietly I got dressed and then left the room, moving down the hall and then down the stairs very slowly to minimize any sounds I might make. Once I got downstairs I was greeted with a surprising silence. I was the only one up and about at the moment. That was shocking because in the past few days everyone had proven to be early risers. Maybe today they were all sleeping in because they figured they'd need the extra rest. Tonight was the night of the battle with James.

Okay, so no one else was awake. It was just me down here. This would be a great time to make my plans! For a moment I stood there in the middle of the living room and turned in circles, taking in all of the hunter paraphernalia Bobby and the others had lying around in different places. There were guns, knives, lock picks, rope, and all different size bottles of Holy water. There were stacks of books that covered almost every available space. All kinds of amulets that offered protection against various types of creatures could be seen strewn here and there. Some of these items inspired a few ideas, but in the end I discarded them because they involved too many things that I couldn't do on my own.

Then as I stood there I noticed a table that was basically full of nothing but syringes. And inside each one of those syringes was a dark red liquid. My heart started to race as I moved toward the table, and once I reached it I picked one of the long needles up. I stared at the liquid sloshing around inside. Of course I knew what it was. Dead man's blood. The one thing guaranteed to drop any vamp. I paused. I remember Sam had brought up a good point about that though. Would it work the same way on James? Since he was the vampire King, did that mean he was so powerful that it would it not be as effective on him as it would on a normal vampire? As far as I knew no one had been able to answer that question.

For a moment I stood there, uncertain. I'd have to chance it. More than likely the blood would work on James. Frowning, I looked back down at the pile of syringes. There were a lot of them, and nine times out of ten someone had them counted. If I took any they would surely be missed. Well, I'd have to chance that too. Quickly I scooped up six, thought better of it, and put two back. I didn't know what I'd carry them in that would keep them concealed while I tried to approach James. Those last four words stood out big time, and my frown got worse. I would have to find a way to approach James, and I would have to convince him not to hurt anyone while I did. Offering myself up as a treat wouldn't be enough. I would have to have my ring to seal the deal. Of course there was my biggest challenge, and would no doubt be the downfall to my plans.

Sam had my ring, and he wore it on that leather cord around his neck all the time. Even if by some bizarre miracle I could get the thing, I was pretty sure he'd notice it was gone. So yeah, really big problem here. For a moment I just stood there as several bad words floated through my mind. This idea of mine was a good one but I wouldn't be able to pull it off. I couldn't get my hands on that ring. For a brief moment I considered kicking the table but thought better of it. All that would do is bring eight hunters down here to see what was going on, and they'd find little old me standing there with four syringes full of dead man's blood. Then it would be all over but the shouting. And the crying. And the sore backside. Yeah, definitely no kicking tables.

I let out a small, frustrated groan as my eyes roamed around the room. Not sure what else to do, I wandered away from the syringe table and gave half hearted glances to the items on the other tables I came in contact with. None of them jumped out at me as my solution to my problem. There was no way I'd be lucky enough to find such a thing among everything in this room.

And then, to my vey great relief, I was proven wrong only minutes later. I had wandered back over to the table that held mostly amulets, along with bracelets and even a few rings. I stared at the amulets again and the bracelets, and then my eyes fell on the few rings in the pile. I froze as shock spread through me like a raging fire. My mouth fell open, and I stretched out a trembling hand toward one of the rings. Slowly I picked it up and held it up to the light shining through the window in front of me.

The ring that I held was…_my_ ring. But not my ring. There were slight differences that I could pick out here and there. Like, for instance, the silver band wasn't the same. It was textured, but the band on my true ring was smooth. And the stone that had been set in this ring wasn't nearly as wonderful as the one my ring held. But it was a pretty good replica of the ring Sam had on that leather cord of his. Of course I knew where this replica had come from. I clearly remember that night when Sam and Dean rescued me and Eden from James. I could remember them pulling over on the side of the road when we had started to bleed again. I could remember my frantic questions about my ring, and my disbelief that Sam had actually handed it over to James.

But then he had explained what had happened. He and Dean had found someone who owed them a favor, and who happened to make jewelry. This person had made a replica of my ring to fool James. But I had never imagined that he had done his work here at Bobby's house. Either that or Sam and Dean had just kept a few of the replicas and later gave them to Bobby in case they ever needed them again.

More than one example of my ring lay on the table. There were at least four others, and eagerly I thoroughly examined each one. I found one out of the four that bore the closest resemblance to my real ring. This one had the actual initials inside the band, just like mine. I stared at the tiny letters. J & L. My eyes went wide. I also remember Sam asking me what those initials had stood for that night of our rescue. At that time I'd had no idea. Now I did. J & L. James and Lenora. My ancestor had made this ring, I mean my real ring, herself, and had engraved it with her and James' initials. Inhaling sharply, I closed my fist over the false ring. I now had what I needed to make my plans into a reality. But this particular ring would not work. It would not fool James. Not this time. Deep down, I knew that. But it would fool Sam.

Somehow, someway, I had to swap out this ring with the real one on Sam's necklace. But how was I supposed to do that when he wore the thing all the time? As far as I knew he never took it off, not even when he went to bed. Damn. I was so close to getting everything I needed! What was I going to do? I thought hard. Maybe I could drug him, just a little, and slip the leather cord off while he was out and change out the rings. No, that would never work. We'd have to be completely alone, preferably in one of the rooms upstairs, and he'd have to be sitting on the bed so when he passed out, he would have somewhere safe to land. Even if I somehow managed to set that all up it would be my dumb luck that he'd slide right off the bed and hit the floor, injuring himself in the process. Never mind the loud thud that would bring the others running.

I snorted at myself and shook my head. No, drugging him was not a good idea. Way too risky. Ugh, but what was I going to do? Biting down on my lower lip, I slipped the fake ring in one of the pockets of my jeans and looked up at the ceiling, where beyond that Sam and Dean were still asleep in the room down the hall from me and Eden.

Still asleep. Hmm. Maybe…maybe I could slip the necklace off while he was asleep and make the swap? Even before I completed that thought I knew it was a no go. Sam woke up at the drop of a hat. I imagine it was due to all his years of being a hunter. To survive that kind of life you had to be able to come out of a deep sleep fully alert and ready to fight. Sam had that skill down pat, as did Dean. I wouldn't even be able to open the door without waking them up, no matter how carefully I tried.

I made a face but then suddenly found myself walking toward the stairs anyway. I climbed them slowly. What was I doing? I knew I couldn't pull this off. But I kept going, and soon I was standing at the door of Sam and Dean's room. Then I remembered that I still had the four syringes full of dead man's blood in my hand. Flinching, I looked around for a place to hide them. At the end of the hall was a large potted plant. Well, a large _dead _potted plant. It would work for now. Quickly and quietly I went over to it and hid the syringes under the dead branches and other debris found in the pot. They would be fine there for a few minutes. I'd get them back if I survived what I was about to attempt.

Biting down on my lower lip, I snuck back to Sam and Dean's bedroom door. It was already open a crack, and after peeking through it I could see that both beds were actually empty. I felt my heart slam into my throat. I had thought they were still in here, asleep! If they weren't that had to mean they were downstairs somewhere. But where? The basement? Surely if they had been in there they would have heard me wandering around the living room. As I stood there with my thoughts flying wildly all over the place, the sound of the front door opening traveled up the stairs and to my ears. I blinked and look toward the stairs, and then I heard Dean's voice.

"Hey Bobby!" he called, and I could tell he was leaning out the front door as he yelled. Apparently Bobby was outside and Dean had been with him. "You want anything while I'm in here?" I heard a faint sound as Bobby answered from somewhere outside, and then Dean spoke again. "Okay. Sam was up when I left the room, getting ready to take a shower. I'm sure he'll be down soon. Keep an eye on Russell while I'm in here, would you? I don't want him touching my car."

I heard Bobby's voice again, and then Dean swore. "Well, if you're too busy to baby sit Russell, have Ellen and Jo do it!" he snapped. "Just make sure someone's watching him, Bobby! I trust that guy about as far as I can kick him!" Well, apparently Bobby and Dean weren't the only ones outside. From the sounds of it everyone was out there. But what was Russell doing out there with them? He wasn't exactly bosom buddies with anyone around here. Oh well, it didn't matter right now. As long as everyone was outside it made things a little easier for me in here.

I swallowed hard as I heard Dean come into the house and slam the door. Yeah, that wasn't going to wake anyone up. I stayed very still as I listened to Dean's footsteps, and I relaxed a little when I heard him go into the kitchen. While I listened to him rummaging around in there I turned back to the bedroom door and peered through the crack again. Dean had said Sam was in the shower. Saying a little prayer, I slowly pushed the door open a bit further. Sam was nowhere to be seen, and building up my courage, I slipped into the room. The door to the bathroom was closed but after standing still again I caught the sound of Sam moving around in there, and he was obviously in the shower. Good.

But one question remained. Did Sam take that leather cord off while he was getting cleaned up? I didn't know because for one thing I couldn't remember if he had while we'd been traveling, and I had never been in his bedroom in Maine while he'd been taking a shower. But then another question came up. If he did take it off, did he do so while in the bathroom and toss it on the sink, or did he take it off before he went into the bathroom and just toss it somewhere in the room?

Hoping with all my might that I was correct on that part, I quickly began searching the room. I went to the only dresser in there, which was shoved in a corner near the window. I scanned the top of it, muttering to myself as I did. "Oh please, please, please be here!" I whispered as I looked. I didn't see it but that didn't mean it wasn't there, because there were a lot of things on the top of that dresser.

Feeling a bit frantic now because I knew I was taking too long, I ran my hands over wallets, papers, spare lock picks, pocket knives, and various other items. From inside the bathroom there came a sudden soft thud, and I nearly had heart failure then and there. Crap, was Sam done already? Terrified, I stood there frozen as I listened. But I didn't hear the water go off and I didn't hear him get out of the shower. Relaxing a little, I went back to my search. Minutes later I had to admit defeat. At least as far as the dresser was concerned.

I turned to the nightstand that was next to the bed closest to me. One look told me that it was Sam's bed. His shoes were on the floor near the end of the bed and his watch was on the nightstand. Okay, that necklace had to be there. It couldn't be in the bathroom with him. If it was there was no way I'd ever get it.

Trying to fight back the feeling of hysteria creeping up on me, I practically lunged toward the nightstand and began searching again. There wasn't as much clutter here and it didn't take me long to complete my search. The necklace was not there. Devastation overwhelmed me and without thinking I sank down onto the bed. I was ashamed to say that more bad words flashed through my mind as I sat there and stared at the wall across from me. A little whimper escaped my lips and I suddenly felt dizzy. Automatically I put my hand out, resting it on the bed to steady myself. As soon as I did my fingers came in contact with something cold and hard.

My heart pounding almost out of control, I looked down. There it was, Sam's necklace, resting right under my hand. He had gone and left it on the bed, and I had missed it. A thrill of joy shot through me so hard it was almost painful, and with shaking fingers I lifted my hand and picked up the leather cord. For one stupid moment I just sat there and stared at my ring as it hung there, resting against the back of the anti vampire stone that Sam had gotten from that poor lady. I pushed that thought out of my mind and quickly began working on the clasp on the leather cord. Then something happened that almost caused me to fall off the bed. Inside the bathroom the shower suddenly went off. For a moment fear paralyzed me, and I sat there and listened as Sam got out of the shower. As soon as I heard the sound of the shower door close I snapped back into action.

I sprung to my feet and went back to the clasp on the necklace. It was a lobster clasp thank God, and it was easy to undo. Or at least it would have been if I hadn't been panicking. But finally after what felt like forever I got the clasp opened. Sam was still moving around inside the bathroom, and I'm guessing he was drying off and getting dressed.

My hands were shaking like a drug addict denied his daily dose of damage. As a result I dropped the cord back on the bed and the charm and the ring slid right off and fell into the folds of the covers, disappearing from view. I almost swore out loud as I plunged my hand into the covers, searching for the ring. I found it in seconds thankfully, along with the charm. Still shaking, I shoved my ring onto the middle finger of my right hand, and then dipped my left hand into the pocket of my jeans that held the fake ring.

Shaking so badly now my breath was coming out in little jerky puffs, I threaded the fake ring onto the cord and then put the charm back on there too. I had just started to fix the clasp on the cord when a floorboard from inside the bathroom let out a loud, threatening squeak. Then the door knob let out an ominous click as Sam unlocked it, and if I had been the owner of a bad heart I would have dropped dead from a heart attack and that would have been it.

But thankfully I was pretty healthy in the heart area and by some wonderful miracle I got the clasp back together, dropped the necklace back onto the bed, hit the floor quietly, and rolled under the bed just as the bathroom door was swinging open.

As I laid there on that dusty floor under the bed I thanked God for making the people that created the long bed skirt that came all the way down to the floor, completely hiding me from view. Yeah, I was so in love with those bed skirt makers right now. They were awesome people. Unsung heroes! I shook my head a little to clear it, because I knew I was getting silly. Swallowing hard, I made sure I didn't move one muscle or bat an eyelash as I listened to Sam moving around.

A silhouette of his legs flashed suddenly across the bed skirt as he moved to the end of the bed to get his shoes. Again I swallowed, this time a bit more carefully, as he sat down on the edge of the bed to put the shoes on. I could hear the rustle of his clothes as he did, and he cleared his throat and then sighed once he was done. I was thankful that Sam had the kind of shoes that didn't have any laces. If he'd had to pause and tie them that would have kept him in there longer. The sooner he got out of this room, the better.

I tried to hold my breath as I waited for him to get up and leave. But it wasn't going to be that easy. For a moment he just sat there, and I wondered what the hell he was doing. Then he moved a little, and the bed creaked under his weight. Ooooh, come on! What is he doing? I listened as he pushed the covers on the bed around, and I realized he was looking for the leather cord. I went cold for a moment. I had dropped it back on the bed. I know I had. It was right there. _Please find the stupid thing and put it on and leave_! I thought desperately. I couldn't stand much more of this stress and suspense.

But I had more to suffer through as Sam sat there and fastened the cord around his neck. I licked my lips nervously when he finally got up, and I squeezed my eyes shut as he went over to the nightstand to get his watch. I heard him pick it up and then there was a moment of silence as he slipped it on. My heart was pounding so hard by this point that I was sure if Sam stuck around much longer he would hear it and investigate. The thought of him finding me under this bed made me break out in a cold sweat. If he caught me I would never, ever sit down again for the rest of my life. Okay, maybe that was a slight exaggeration. But only a slight one, mind you.

I felt tears of frustration fill my eyes as Sam took a few steps away from the bed and then suddenly stopped. Oh freaking hell! Why did he stop? Had I left some glaring clue of my presence while I'd been searching for the necklace? I tried to think if I had, but I couldn't remember. Had I messed up the stuff on top of the dresser so much that he noticed it? He was so good at noticing small things like that. Oh please, please, please let this be the morning when his attention to detail wasn't that sharp!

Apparently someone somewhere heard my prayer and was feeling kind, because seconds later Sam finally started moving again. Without another pause he pulled the door open and left the room. I nearly collapsed in relief as I listened to his footsteps as he moved down the hall. Then my body went tense again as I thought of something. What if he went to the room Eden and I shared to check on me? If I hadn't been afraid of the noise it would make I would have banged my head on the floor in total frustration.

So I stayed still and listened, and a few moments later I relaxed again when I heard Sam start down the stairs. _Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you_! I chanted the little prayer silently as I remained under the bed. I stayed there for a few more minutes, and then I heard Sam's voice coming from down stairs, and I heard Dean respond to whatever his brother had said. Then the front door opened, the two Winchesters went out, and the door slammed shut.

I swear I almost sobbed in relief as I crawled out from under that bed. Feeling as weak as a kitten, I slowly got to my feet and looked down at myself. The front of my shirt and my jeans were covered in dust, courtesy of my hiding place. But I didn't care. I had succeeded in doing what I thought was impossible. I had swapped the rings, and now I had my true ring back. I had everything I needed to control James when the time came. Well, almost everything. I still needed a way to make sure he didn't hurt anyone before I gave myself over. But what could I do that would ensure that? I only had to stand there for a few seconds before the idea came to me. I turned back to Sam's bed and scanned the area quickly. Moments later I found what I was looking for.

Carefully I picked up the duffel bag that Sam always carried around. Not long after I had joined the Winchester brothers Sam had presented me with my very own gun, though annoyingly enough I wasn't allowed to carry it around all the time. I thought that was unfair because Sam and Dean got to carry their guns with them. But anyway, my gun was a shiny black Glock 26, or also known as a "Baby" Glock. It was the smallest Glock pistol available, and weirdo me had fallen in love with it. Nuts, huh? But hey, at least I fit in with the Winchester life. But anyway Sam had shown me how to load it and how to fire it, and after several practice session I had gotten pretty good with my aim. I had popped several coke cans off rocks and fences, pleasing Sam to no end.

But this time my target wouldn't be so far away. I was not planning on threatening James with the little gun. There was no point in that. I couldn't hurt him with it. But I could hurt me. When the time came I was going to take that loaded pistol and put it to my own head, and I was going to tell James I'd take my own life if he didn't leave everyone alone. After all, what could he do with me if I was dead? I felt my stomach twist at the thought of pointing a loaded gun at my head. If Sam and I lived through this, that action alone would earn me the spanking of my life.

But I couldn't worry about that right now. I had to stay focused on my plan. Quickly I dug through the duffel bag again until I located the magazine that I needed for my little Glock. The magazine was already filled and ready to go, and with one smooth movement I had it in and secure. I stood and automatically tucked the gun in the back of the waistband of my jeans, just like Sam and Dean always did. Okay, now it was time to get the heck out of this room. I put the duffel bag back exactly where I found it and left as fast and as quietly as I could. Then I went to the pitiful dead plant, got my syringes, and went back to the room I shared with Eden and slipped inside, carefully closing the door behind me. To my surprise Eden was still asleep, so I was extra quiet as I gathered a new set of clothes and carried them into the bathroom. I couldn't run around in the dust stained clothes I had on now. Someone would notice and ask about it.

Once in the bathroom I pulled the gun out and set it 0on the sink, along with the syringes. I changed clothes quickly and stuffed the dirty ones in the laundry basket. Once I was done I turned and looked at the gun and the syringes. I'd have to stash it all somewhere until tonight. That really wouldn't be a problem. Carefully I picked everything up and left the bathroom. I went over to my bed, still moving silently, and knelt down. I reached under the bed, pulled out my suit case, and tucked the gun and the syringes under a pile of extra clean clothes I still had available. After pausing for a moment I went ahead and slipped the ring off my finger. I shoved it into the pocket of a pair of jeans, and then I flipped the top on the suit case and zipped it closed. I pushed it back under my bed and then stood. Then I turned around and was greeted with quite a shock.

Eden was sitting up in bed staring at me, and I felt an agonizing pang of guilt and fear run through me. Had she seen what I had been hiding? How would I explain it to her if she had? I'd have to tell her everything, and then she'd want to come with me tonight. Crap. But a few moments later I realized I had nothing to fear. She had no look of confusion or suspicion on her pretty face as she sat there and watched me. In fact she looked like she was still trying to wake up. I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

I smiled at her as she yawned and rubbed at her eyes. "Morning," I said calmly as I sat down on my bed. "About time you woke up," I added.

"Hmm," she mumbled sleepily. "What time is it?"

I glanced at the clock by my bed. "Ten minutes after nine," I told her.

"Oh," she said, and stretched. "Guess you've been up for a while," she remarked as she looked at me again. "You're all cleaned up and ready to go."

Her words caused my heart to leap in panic, but I realized she hadn't meant anything by it. "Yeah," I grumbled as I crossed my arms over my chest. "It's just too bad I have nowhere to go."

Eden snorted. "Tell me about it," she agreed with a sigh. We both sat there in silence for a few minutes, and then she sat up straight and looked at me again. "Tonight's the night," she said softly, and her voice trembled a little.

I closed my eyes for a moment and nodded. "Yeah," I said, and my own voice faltered as well as I looked back at her.

Eden sat there and stared down at her hands. "Are you scared?" she asked in a near whisper.

I inhaled sharply and bit down on my lip. "Yes," I admitted. I was definitely scared, and for more reasons than she'd ever realize. As I sat there and thought Eden gave a loud sniffle, and then suddenly she jumped out of bed. I watched with wide eyes as she ran across the room toward me, and when she reached me she threw herself in my arms and started to cry.

"I don't want anyone to go out to that cemetery tonight, Rivvie!" she sobbed pitifully as I hugged her to me. "Why does it have to be this why? Why Rivvie, why? I don't want to lose Dean!" she moaned. "I can't lose him, Rivvie! I just can't! I'll go crazy if I do! I love him, I can't live without him!" she wailed.

"Hey," I said gently but firmly as I hugged her tighter. "You are _not_ going to lose him, okay? Nothing is going to happen to Dean. Nothing is going to happen to Sam. We are not going to lose anyone. The only ones that are going to die tonight are James and all his vampire friends. Okay? I promise, Eden. I _promise_," I said fiercely.

At the sound of my intense tone she pulled back and looked at me. "How can you be so sure?" she asked me as she stared at me with streaming eyes. "How can you promise such a thing?"

I took a deep breath. "Because…because I have faith in Sam and Dean, and their ability to stop James," I told her. "And they'll have Bobby and Ellen and Jo with them, and those other crazy guys," I added, and Eden laughed a little. "Everything is going to be okay," I assured her. "Everyone is going to come back from this fight. And they're going to come back winners."

Eden sniffled and whimpered a few moments after that, and then finally she nodded. "Yeah," she said as she mopped her eyes with the sleeve of her pajamas. "You're right. I'm being silly. I can't fall apart right now. Sam and Dean know what they're doing. So does everyone else. It'll be okay," she said, and gave me a watery grin.

"Of course it will be," I agreed, and she smiled again and let me go. I watched as she went back to her bed and got out her own suit case. She picked some clothes out for herself and then went into the bathroom. As soon as the door was closed I let out a breath I hadn't even known I was holding.

_Oh God_, I prayed as I hid my face in my hands. _Please don't let my promise turn into a lie_.

* * *

><p>The hours snuck by us. Not long after Eden and I came downstairs everyone had come inside, and after getting good morning kisses from our respective men, everyone had gone down to the basement and basically stayed there for the rest of the day. Eden was beside herself but trying not to show it. Missouri spent a lot of time talking softly to her throughout the day, and I guess I didn't look as bad off as Eden because I didn't get as much reassurance from Missouri. That was okay though. I mainly wanted to be by myself. Because to be honest, though I was putting up a brave front, I had suddenly lost all of my confidence that I had had while putting my plans together for tonight.<p>

I was so scared. And I was considering backing out on my plans. Things kept coming back to me. Things Cas had said. According to the Angel, if I showed up in the cemetery tonight with the real ring, it would give James power that we hadn't seen yet. That's how Cas had put it. My presence would be the reason we'd lose this fight.

But I didn't want to believe it. I _had _to be able to protect Sam. Somehow I thought if I could just be there, he wouldn't get hurt. As long as I could be there and distract James, Sam would stay safe. I felt I was the only one that could hold the vampire King's attention well enough for someone else to take him down. After all, I was the key to all of this, right? I had more power than anyone realized, and I could wield it like none of the others that were going to fight. I tried to ignore the glaring fact that I didn't know how to wield this power I thought I had within me. That didn't matter right now. When I stepped out into that cemetery tonight and showed myself, I would know what to do. It would come to me automatically.

_Can you guarantee that_? That annoying inner voice of mine spoke up. _Do you really know what you're getting into_? _Do you really know what you're doing_, _or __do you just hope you do_?

It was a very good question. I didn't know how to answer it. That should have been my clue right there, but I'm a stubborn little thing. I knew I'd have to try. But first…first I would try one last time to talk to Sam. If he would just agree to let me come, that would make all this risky trouble unnecessary.

As I thought about that something suddenly occurred to me. Sam had not once tried to talk to me about not coming with them tonight. He had promised Cas and Dean that he would, but he hadn't. Why not? Maybe he was saving it for later, before it was time for everyone to leave? That way if I balked and refused to listen to logic, he could just pick me up and toss me in the Panic room, right along with poor Eden. Yeah, it sounded like something Sam would do. Well, I couldn't worry about it right now. I'd find some way to talk to him, and see if I could get him to listen to _my _logic. I would have to give away a little detail of my plan, but so be it. It really shouldn't be anything that would tip him off and make him think I was going to do something stupid. And then after that, if I still couldn't change his mind, I'd have to go ahead and lie to him. And I'd have to make him believe it. I was dreading that so much. I still doubted my ability to pull it off, and that wasn't good.

But maybe there would be a chance that I could talk him into letting me go. Of course I knew better on that front too but I had to at least hang on to that hope. I had to have something to hang on to. So yeah, I'd try to talk to him as soon as possible about it. As soon as he came out of that dang basement.

I waited and I waited. Hours later the only person that made a sudden appearance was Bobby, and he didn't even look at any of us as he stomped out of the basement, into the kitchen, and back out minutes later with a bunch of snack foods and drinks. He went back down to the basement and that was it after that. Finally I got tired of sitting in the living room and I found that I wanted nothing more than to be completely alone. So I drug myself upstairs to the room Eden and I shared, closed the door, wandered over to my cot, and flopped down on it. Though I had not been planning on falling asleep, I did just that.

When I woke up hours later, night had already fallen, and to my horror it was ten minutes to ten. In three hours everyone would leave and head for the cemetery where James and his army would be waiting. I jumped out of bed muttering a few interesting words, and I stumbled toward the door. I jerked it open and practically ran out and down the stairs.

When I reached the bottom and got into the living room, I found that everyone was there, spread out all over the available seating places in the room. Well, except Russell. After listening I could tell he was in the kitchen. Probably sharpening his already sharp knives. But everyone else was right here. Bobby, Dean, and Missouri had the couch, and Dean had Eden cuddled on his lap. As I watched he gave her a gentle squeeze and then began to rub her back, and my heart cried out in pain when she let out a little sob and clung tighter to him.

"Shhh," Dean murmured softly to her. "It's okay. Everything's gonna be okay. Don't cry, sweetheart. Please." I turned away as he dropped a kiss on her forehead and studied everyone else.

Next to Dean, Bobby was studying the map of the cemetery, and next to Bobby, Missouri sat quietly, lost in thought. My eyes wandered away from everyone on the couch and found two other members of our little group. Brad and Marshal were crouched down on the floor in a corner, and surrounding them were different backpacks, duffel bags, tote bags and even what looked like a huge purse. They were each digging through a bag, and after watching them for a couple of seconds I lost interest and I turned away from them too.

My eyes found Ellen and Jo next. Ellen was sitting on a small chair in the corner and Jo was sitting on the ground next to her, leaning her head against her mother's legs. I watched as Ellen reached out and stroked her daughter's blond hair, and Jo caught my eye and gave me a tiny smile as she moved closer to Ellen.

Forcing down the lump that was trying to rise in my throat, I found the last person in the room. Sam was sitting in the chair near the table that had held the syringes, but of course they were gone now. Packed away and ready to use in just a few hours time. But Sam had placed a few hand guns on the table, and he was double checking them. His duffel bag was sitting on the floor by his feet, open and showing off a few of the items in there, which were mainly weapons.

I felt a stab of terror as I glanced down at it. Had he noticed that my Glock was missing? Why hadn't I thought about that before now? But surely he hadn't noticed, because if he had I would have heard about it somehow. Shaking off that fear, or trying to, I looked back up at Sam. He was completely focused on the gun he was holding, and as I watched he finished his examination of that one, put it in his duffel bag, and picked up another gun from the table.

I stood there and stared at him, willing him to look at me. A few seconds later he actually did, but he didn't hold my gaze. It was just a quick glance before he went back to the damn gun he was holding. I felt my heart shudder and then crack. It was like I wasn't even standing there. He had never ignored me so completely like that before. Hurt feelings overwhelmed me, and I tried to remind myself that Sam was a hunter, and was about to go fight a terrible battle. He had a lot on his mind, and he had to stay very focused. But that didn't take away the pain that I felt at being unable to get his attention. I looked back over at Dean and Eden. He was still holding her so sweetly, like he should be. That's what I wanted from Sam. But apparently I wasn't going to get it. I wasn't even going to get to talk to him, it seemed.

I stood there for a few more seconds, and then I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't stand to have Sam ignore me anymore. On top of that there was too much tension built up in the living room with all those hunters gathered there, and with a fight only hours away it made the feeling worse. I had to go back upstairs and to the comforting silence I'd find there. The silence here was loud and painful.

I spun around quickly and charged back up the stairs, and seconds later I flung myself back into the room. I closed the door quietly and went over to my little cot. I fought back my tears as I moved to sit on the other side of the bed so I could face the window, and I looked out at the moon that was peeking in at me. It was a full one tonight. Good. We'd need all the light we could get during the fight.

I sat there for a while like that, my back to the door as I stared off into space, lost in thought. Then out of the blue there was a knock on the door. I didn't move and I didn't reply. I don't know why. I guess I was so scared for so many reasons. I didn't want to talk to anyone, but at the same time I didn't want to be alone anymore. But still I didn't move. A few minutes of silence went by, and then the door opened quietly and then closed again. I knew who it was long before he moved into view. I drew in a deep breath and looked down.

"Hey," Sam said softly. I didn't say anything and I didn't turn around. "Rivan, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you like that downstairs," he told me gently. "I was just so focused on this fight and what I was doing at the time. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." He paused for a moment. "Do you forgive me?" he asked quietly. I swallowed hard and merely nodded because I knew if I opened my mouth I'd start crying.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked in reponse to my nod. "You won't even turn around and look at me."

I remained silent and I didn't move. For a few moments Sam stayed where he was, and then he moved over to the cot toward me. He came to stand in front of me, and then slowly and quietly he crouched down, resting his arms on his knees. He gazed up at me from his low position, but still I said nothing. I didn't even look at him. It was crazy. Just a little while ago I wanted nothing more than to have his attention, and now that I had it I didn't know what to do or say. So I just sat there and stared down at my hands, and suddenly stupid tears filled my eyes. I couldn't fight them this time. Damn uncontrollable emotions. Sometimes being a woman sucked.

Then to my furious dismay my eyes overflowed and a few tears dripped down and splashed on my hands. I reached up and swiped angrily at my eyes, but of course that did no good. Sam watched me for a moment before reaching out and rubbing my knee.

"Rivan," he said softly, quietly. "Don't cry, baby." Well that was all I needed. With my unstable emotional state paired with my fears about tonight, that one little word, that damn word of his that he said so well and with such tenderness, it was all too much and I just promptly burst into tears.

Instantly Sam moved to sit beside me. Quickly he pulled me onto his lap and I went gladly. He wrapped his strong arms around me and I buried my face against his chest and continued to cry. He murmured softly to me and rubbed my back while he gently rocked me back and forth. "Don't cry, baby," he said again as he kissed my head. "Everything is going to be okay. I promise."

Whimpering, I turned my head slightly to where my cheek was pressed against his chest so I could talk. "How can you promise something like that?" I wailed, echoing Eden's words from hours ago. "Tonight you're going to go fight that damn vampire king and all his vampires! And you're gonna leave me here while you do it!" I howled as I clung to him.

I thought maybe he might get mad because I brought that up, but Sam showed no signs of getting angry. He merely sighed deeply. "Rivan," he said as he gave me a tight squeeze. "Baby, you _have_ to stay here. I already explained why. Please don't make it any harder than it already is."

Yes, he had already explained why, but he hadn't given me the entire explanation. Oh well. I knew it anyway. Groaning, I pushed myself up so I could look at him. "But you're making it hard for me! You won't even listen to the reason why I want to be there!" I told him as I gazed up at him.

Sam sighed again and closed his eyes. He kept them closed for a few moments and then opened them again. "Okay," he said, sounding tired. "Tell me why you think you need to be there."

Encouraged by the fact that he was going to listen to me, I calmed down a little and wiped some of my tears away. Okay, here goes everything. "There was something Cas said that time when he came to tell us the truth about the ring," I began. "When he was talking about the ritual, when James and Lenora was trying to cast the spell on the ring. Remember he said that they were vulnerable while they were doing that, and that was why the other vampires were able to attack and kill Lenora?" Sam nodded as he watched me. "So what if that's all we need this time?" I asked quickly.

For a moment Sam just sat there and stared at me. Then he narrowed his eyes at me and frowned. "What do you mean exactly?" he asked, but I felt he had a suspicion.

I swallowed hard. Here's where I'd have to give away a little of my plan. "Well, what if I go to James so he can perform the ritual? Let him start it and get into it a little so he'll be distracted. While he's trying to cast the spell on the ring everyone else can be fighting the other vampires and you can make your move and kill James. You and Dean can do it together. Everyone else can handle all the other vampires. That's what they're there for after all."

A heavy silence draped its terrible weight on the room. Sam sat there and just stared at me with wide eyes. I flinched and bit down on my lower lip. "What? Why are you staring at me like that? It's a good idea."

"A good idea," Sam repeated, and I could hear the growing anger in his voice. "You think it's a good idea to offer yourself up as bait to the vampire that wants to use your blood to cast a spell on the ring? A ring that will give him the power over the entire human race?"

I made a face at him. "Well hell, Sam. Why do you have to go and put it like that? You make it sound like a really bad idea when you put it that way."

Sam gritted his teeth and his hands suddenly moved up to grab me by the arms. "That's because it _is_ a really bad idea!" he snarled at me, and I cringed. "Good God Rivan, what the hell is wrong with you? Do you honestly think I would let you do that? Damn it, I ought to bust your ass right now just for suggesting it! No! No way we're going to do that! Do you understand me?"

Now I felt my own temper flare. "I understand that you're a stubborn ass that won't listen to reason!" I snapped back at him. "It's a better idea than what you and everyone else have planned! You're all just going to go plow in there and start fighting!"

"We have a better plan than that, Rivan. If it'll make you feel better, I'll even tell you the damn plan!" he said, and I was shocked. I really hadn't expected that.

"Okay then," I said as I still glared up at him. "Tell me the plan."

Sam made a face and sighed. "Well, it's a lot like the one you just suggested I let you do," he admitted. "I'm gonna use the blood that Ellen took from you the other day, and I'm gonna offer it and the ring to James. Of course I'll only give it to him as long as he promises to leave us all alone. You and I know that's never going to happen, but I gotta give him a reason why I'm handing over exactly what he's asking for. More or less," he added.

I stared at him. "Why do you get to do that but I don't?" I asked softly, wondering if he'd tell me everything.

"Because you want to offer yourself as bait," Sam growled at me. "That's not what I'm going to do. I'm just going to give him the basic tools that he needs to _try_ to achieve his goal. If you're out there Rivan…" His voice trailed off, and I waited. "It's just too dangerous," he finally said, and I wished I had the courage and the true desire to slap him. "You are not going to risk your life like that. I won't have it."

"But you're going to risk _your _life," I pointed out quietly.

Sam shook his head. "Again we're back to the point I made a few days ago. I'm more likely to survive this than you are. You're not a hunter, Rivan. You wouldn't know what to do out there even if I did let you come."

"You've taught me a lot," I reminded him as I looked up at him with pleading eyes. "I'm not stupid. I can handle myself."

"I know you're not stupid," he told me with a frown. "I never said you were. You lack the instinct and the experience that everyone else has. _You can't go_. There are too many risks. There's no need for you to be out there. There's no reason for you to be in this fight."

I felt my shoulders slump and I closed my eyes. I took a very deep breath, and then opened my eyes again and looked at him. "What about revenge?" I asked him.

I watched as his eyes went wide. "What?"

"Revenge," I repeated, my tone calm. "Haven't you ever thought that I might want revenge? Or have you forgotten the fact that James killed my parents?" There was one of my most important aces. It was one I hadn't given a lot of thought to, mainly because it caused me so much pain. But now I had to use it.

Sam blinked down at me, and it seemed that he was stunned. "Of course I haven't forgotten that, Rivan," he almost whispered. "How could I?"

I shrugged. "Then let me go," I replied. "I deserve to be there and help kill James. He took my parents from me in the most awful way. He caused me unimaginable pain for years. I still live with that pain. I should help take _his_ life from _him_."

I expected another stunned silence from Sam, but what I got was a firm shake of his head and an almost steely look in his eyes. "No," he said without hesitation. "No. I can't let you do that. Rivan, I understand the need for revenge. Believe me I do. I've gone out looking for revenge more than once. I know how it feels to want it, and to need it. But baby…it's too big of a risk to take. It's like I told you before. You're not a hunter. You don't know exactly what to do. If I were to let you come with us tonight with no experience to back you up and with revenge on your mind, you wouldn't be able to think straight and you wouldn't be able to control yourself. If you lose control then lives are lost. Do you want that to happen?"

I had to bite down hard on my lower lip to keep myself from screaming. Apparently I was insane to think I could get around Sam's kind of logic. It was logic built from experience and pain, and fear of the worst kind. It was the best kind of logic in the world, but the worst kind for me, because everything he was saying was true.

Damn. "You have to let me go with you," I told him, and I felt desperation coming on. "Please Sam. You _have_ to!"

Again he shook his head, and that steely look in his eyes got worse. "No," he said quietly. "You're not coming. When we leave tonight you'll stay here with Eden and Missouri. End of story. Got it?"

Okay, time for a new tactic. Time to let go of a bit of control and let my desperation show. "No!" I yelled at him. His eyes went wide again but I ignored him and started trying to pull out of his grasp. I was not successful. He had a tight hold on me and he wasn't letting go for anything. "You say your plan is better, but all you're doing is going to your death, right along with everyone else! How the hell is that a better plan?" I shouted as I fought against his hold.

But still he would not let go. "We are not going to our deaths!" he growled at me. "Rivan, stop and listen to me! Dean and I have been doing this for _years_. Several years. Bobby's been doing it longer, and all of the hunters he brought in have been doing it longer than Bobby! Rivan, we all know what we're doing. Me, Dean, Bobby, Ellen and Jo and everyone else! Why can't you just trust me when I say everything will be fine?"

"Because I won't be there to make sure you don't get hurt!" I shouted at him, and then I broke down again, sobbing against his chest. Sam loosened his hold on me and wrapped his arms around me again, taking a deep breath.

"Rivan, I'll have plenty of other people watching my back," he told me. "Dean's the best at it. He's been doing it since he was four. Bobby's been doing it for a while now too. We'll all take care of each other while we're out there fighting. That's how it goes. That's how it always goes. Why can't you understand that and trust me? I know it's hard. Trust me, I know. I understand. But you _can't_ be out there with us. You just can't, baby. Please. For once just listen to me and try to understand. Nothing is going to happen to me, or to anyone else for that matter."

The only response I gave to that was a shuddering sigh, and for several minutes the only sound in the room was my sniffling. Finally though I started to calm down and when I felt I could talk I straightened up and looked at Sam. "There's nothing I can say that will change your mind and let me come with you, is there?" I asked him quietly as I looked into his beautiful eyes.

"No," he told me as he reached up and stroked my cheek. "There is no way I'm going to give in on this, Rivan. It'll be easier on both of us if you just accept that. So please Rivan…_please_ promise me that you'll stay here when we leave."

I sighed and my eyes darted away from him. Okay. So it was over. That was it. It was time for the biggest acting moment of my life. "Fine," I said quietly, not looking up at him. "I'll do what you want." Maybe he would buy it that way. Maybe I wouldn't have to look him in the eye.

No such luck. Sam was quiet for a moment and then he caught my chin and forced me to look at him. "You'll stay here then?" he asked me, his intense eyes locked onto mine. "When the time comes and we leave, you'll stay here with Eden and Missouri without putting up a fight?"

I swallowed hard and gathered every capable, convincing trait that I had in me. If I couldn't sell this I had the Panic room to look forward to. Sam knew exactly what he was doing as he gazed into my eyes. He knew I couldn't lie to him when he forced me to look him directly in the eyes. But this time I had to. This one moment depended on everything I had been secretly planning over the past few days. I couldn't fail. If that happened, surely Sam would die tonight.

It was that knowledge that gave me the ability to do what I had never been able to do. I looked Sam directly in the eye and deliberately lied to him. "Yes," I whispered, allowing my tears to flow. It would look more convincing. "I promise I'll stay here when it's time for you to go." There. I had gone and done it. I held my breath and continued to look him in the eyes and waited, hoping I had convinced him.

Sam stared at me for a few more seconds, making it a heart stopping moment for me. Then he relaxed and let go of my chin. "Good," he said, and he wrapped his arms around me again and hugged me tight. "Good," he repeated. "Thank you. It'll make everything much easier, knowing you'll stay here and stay safe. I'll be able to concentrate even better now. I'm sorry it has to be this way for you, baby. I know what you're going through. It's hard to watch someone you love leave you behind to go off and fight. I know what it feels like. I did it with my dad for years," he added, his voice dropping to a low, sad murmur.

Ah, _crap_. Now I felt like a creep. A big, cruel, slimy, two timing, double crossing creep. Geez! I bit down on my bottom lip, hard, and rested my head on Sam's shoulder. "I'm sorry," I moaned, fighting back a sob. "I'm so sorry!"

"What?" Sam said, and I could hear the confusion in his voice. "What are you sorry for, baby?" he asked, reaching up to stroke my hair.

"I'm sorry that you grew up in such an awful way," I told him in softly. "I'm sorry that you never knew your mother. I'm sorry you had to move all the time and could never call one place your home. I'm sorry that you had to watch your dad go off to kill terrible things and not know if you'd ever see him again. I'm just…sorry!" I finished with a little sob.

I really was sorry for all of that. I always had been, and I had always wished I could reverse time and change things for Sam, and Dean too. But at that moment what I was truly sorry for was lying to Sam in a terrible way, and about something so very important. But of course I couldn't tell him that was my real reason for being sorry. So I just stuck with the other reason I was sorry.

Sam was quiet as he stroked my hair, and then after a moment he spoke. "It really wasn't all that bad," he assured me. "We had good times too. It wasn't always about monsters and killing them. Dad tried. He did the best that he could. He protected us and gave us what he could. So don't be sorry for how my life turned out. I'm not sorry about any of it. Because if it had been different, if Dean and I hadn't grown up to become hunters, I probably would have never met you, and so I wouldn't have been able to protect you. So don't be sorry. There's no other life I would want besides this one, because you're here. As long as you're here, this is the life I want, and it always will be."

Ah, freaking hell and son of a…GUN! Why, WHY did Sam have to go all extra sweet and mushy on me now, after I just told him the most awful lie? I was so overcome with about a thousand emotions at that point that I thought I was going to explode. I tried to think of what the best response would be, and then I knew. It was simple and powerful, and it was the only one I needed right now.

Lifting my head off his shoulder, I leaned up and locked my lips onto Sam's, and I gave him a kiss that beat any kiss given in all the history of the world. It was steamy and sexy and so passionate I wasn't sure if my body or Sam's could contain it. I could tell Sam was taken by surprise, but after a moment he got into it and the yee-haw factor shot up even higher.

Finally though we somehow both came to our senses around the same time and we parted, panting and staring at each other with wide eyes. After taking a very deep breath and letting it out slowly, Sam looked at me. "Don't do that again unless you're ready to take the next step," he told me, sounding exasperated, amused, shocked and pleased all rolled into one. I laughed a shaky, watery laugh and flung my arms around his neck, holding him tight.

"God, I love you," Sam told me as he held me. "I love you _so _much, Rivan."

I squeezed my eyes shut and a few tears slid down my cheeks. "I love you too," I whispered. "More than anything." And that was why I was going to do what I was going to. God help me, I was going to do it.

One good thing about it was that once it was all over, I knew Sam would still love me. I didn't doubt that at all. But on the other hand I knew he was going to be so mad at me that if a massive earthquake, a volcano explosion, and a nuclear attack happened all at the exact same time, Sam's rage would make all of that look like a sunny, happy day at Disneyland.

But I was still going to go ahead with my plans. The only thing I could do was hope I could tolerate the consequences once it was all said and done.

* * *

><p>Two hours later I was standing near the front door, watching as six hunters slipped silently into the dark. I had said my good-byes to all of them, except Russell of course. I had even said good-bye to Brad and Marshal. Marshal had grinned wildly at me and Brad had muttered a few words that I missed before following the others out. I hadn't been sure if the words had been meant for me or if he was just talking to himself like always.<p>

Now the only ones standing here were me, Sam, Dean, Eden, and Missouri, though she was hanging back a little to give me and Eden a more private moment with our men. Dean was holding Eden tight in his arms, and then quite suddenly she pulled away a little, grabbed the lapels of his jacket, and jerked him roughly toward her. The look in his eyes was amusing as he stood there and stared down at the little spit fire in shock.

"You _damn_ well better come back to me, Dean Winchester!" she nearly shouted at him. "Don't you dare go out there and get yourself hurt or killed! If you do I swear I'll kick your ass! I'll stand on a chair to do it if I have to!" she added harshly, and she actually gave him a little shake.

I couldn't help but grin as Dean continued to stare at her in astonishment. "You're feelin' kind of mean tonight, aren't you?" he asked her in amazement.

"No," Eden replied. "I'm feeling possessive about what's mine!" And with that she locked lips with him and for a few minutes they were a bit busy.

Still smiling, I turned and looked up at Sam, who was watching me closely. "Well," he said as he glanced over at Dean and Eden. "Since you already told me that you'd kick my ass if I didn't come back to you, I guess we can skip that speech now, huh?"

I bit down on my lower lip for a moment and gave a little laugh. "Yeah," I said as I wrapped my arms around him. "I think we can skip it," I added as I pulled his jacket around him a bit better. It was cold outside, and all the hunters had left the house with jackets and coats that were designed to keep them warm but were light enough to allow them to move freely.

Sam and I stood there in silence for a moment, and then he sighed quietly as I trembled. "Don't be scared," he told me softly as he reached out to catch my chin. He lifted my face until our eyes met, and he leaned down and placed a tender kiss on my lips. "It'll be okay, baby."

"I know," I whispered as I clutched at the front of his shirt. I looked down and leaned into him, hiding my face against his chest. I breathed in deeply, taking in the scent of him and allowing it to flood my senses. I identified the usual smells that were unique to him, like the spicy, musky smell he always had, and I also picked up the smell of the cold on his jacket, and a hint of pine and even a bit of gun powder. I associated the smells with strength, warmth, protection and love, and it was both wonderful and terrible at the same time. I bit down on my lip again as my tears came, and I fought them back. Even though I knew I'd see him again soon, saying good-bye was still agonizing. I was trying hard to be brave, but a little whimper escaped my lips despite my best efforts, and Sam hugged me to him.

"I know baby," he said gently as he rubbed my back. "I know. Shhh," he murmured as he dropped a kiss on the top of my head.

"Sam, Dean," a rough voice suddenly said. I jumped a little and Sam turned to find Bobby standing in the door way. "It's time," Bobby told them, flashing me a quick, apologetic look. I gave him a small smile and he had to look away. Too much emotion for him, I guess.

"Okay, we're comin' Bobby," Dean said as he glanced at the older man. "You still ridin' with me and Sam?"

"Yep," Bobby answered gruffly. "I left my damn flashlight in the trunk of my car and I wanted to get it, but I can't find my keys," the hunter added in a grouchy tone. I had to fight very, _very_, hard to keep from shifting guiltily at that point, and to cover up any betraying look I might give away I hid my face in Sam's jacket.

Everyone took it as another show of being upset over what was about to go down, and since that was partly true I didn't feel bad about it. An hour ago when I had found out Bobby was going to ride in the Impala with Sam and Dean, I had managed to snitch the keys to his car when no one was looking. Hey, I needed to get to the cemetery somehow, right? I just hadn't thought Bobby might want something out of it before everyone left.

"All you wanted was a flashlight?" Dean asked Bobby with a roll of his eyes. "Sam and I have about a dozen, and I'm sure everyone else does too. We don't need another one. And don't worry about your keys. We'll find em' when we get back," Dean added when Bobby glared at him.

"I don't want your damn flashlights," Bobby snapped. "I wanted mine. But forget it. Just get out here, will ya?" he added, and with that he turned and stomped off. Yep, you just gotta love that gentle old Bobby.

Dean rolled his eyes again and looked back down at Eden. "We gotta go," he told her. "Stay in here with Missouri and Rivan, okay? Don't leave this house, no matter what. If something goes wrong and you three _do_ need to get out, we'll call Missouri. But nothing's gonna go wrong," he added when Eden's eyes went wide in terror. "It's just a backup plan, sweetheart. We gotta have a backup plan."

Eden sniffled a little but nodded, and Dean kissed her one more time before he let her go. He leaned down and grabbed the duffel bag at his feet, and then glanced at Sam for a moment. But he didn't hold his brother's gaze for long. His eyes drifted down to me and he narrowed them ever so slightly, and my heart began to pound.

"You sure you got her convinced to stay behind?" Dean asked Sam, his tone harsh.

"Yes," Sam replied firmly. "She'll stay here. She already promised me she would." Dean glanced up at him sharply. "She wouldn't be standing here if I didn't believe it, Dean," Sam told him quietly, and I swear I was dying on the inside. Slow and painfully. I guess I deserved that though.

I had lied to Sam and here he was sticking up for me, telling his brother that I had promised I'd stay here and stay safe. And Sam believed that with all his heart and soul. I suddenly felt sick. As I stood there feeling like slime on a slug's turd, my situation was made worse when I remembered my conversation I had with Dean back in Maine. He was concerned about my wild ways, and worried that I'd get myself killed, thus destroying his brother in the process. And I had promised Dean that Sam wouldn't lose me. I'd told him that I'd never let that happen.

I meant every word, and I was going to keep that promise tonight. I fought back the sick, guilty feeling in my stomach. In the end my actions would be worth it. I told myself this over and over as Dean walked out the front door quickly. I kept telling myself that as Sam gave me one more warm hug and a quick but intense kiss before turning and following his brother out.

I stood there with my arms wrapped around myself, and I didn't look up when Missouri came to stand beside me. Eden moved to stand on the other side of her, and Missouri put one arm around me and one around Eden and pulled us close. We watched as Sam slowly closed the front door. Eden let out a little sob, which almost drowned out the sound of Sam's footsteps as he walked away. A minute later the sound of several cars starting up could be heard, and one by one head lights flashed through the window as the cars pulled out of the front yard. Dead silence followed, and Eden gave in and began to sob. I did too.

"I know," Missouri said to us softly, her voice full of a mother's understanding. "I know it hurts, darlins'. It's always hard to love men like that. It's terrible to stand by and watch them go off to war. And that's exactly what their lives are, and always will be. I hate to say it, but it's going to hurt like this every time you watch them leave to fight, and sometimes you're going to wonder if you can bear it anymore. But I don't want either one of you to worry, because you're both strong enough to love those men through it all. You two were made for those Winchester boys," Missouri told us. "If there comes a time when you can't trust anything else, trust that," she added, and she sounded so sure that I looked up at her.

And then suddenly I realized something. "You saw us, didn't you?" I asked her quietly. "A long time ago. You saw us with Sam and Dean long before they even knew what they'd grow up to be. You had a vision of me and Eden with them." I could remember the first time we met Missouri, how she had sighed and said she'd wanted to meet us for a long time now, putting a slight emphasis on the word 'long'. The woman was a psychic after all.

I watched as Missouri looked down at me and smiled a pleased, knowing smile. "Yes," she said simply. "I did."

I smiled back and laid my head against her. "Good," I said. All the more reason to do what I needed to do.

* * *

><p><strong>Eden's POV:<strong>

Rivan, Missouri, and I stood there by the front door for a little while, and then finally Missouri sighed and gave us a little hug. "Come on now," she said gently. "Let's not have any hanging around and worrying. I'll make us some of my calming tea and we'll sit and talk. No being alone tonight."

It sounded good to me, but I could tell it didn't suit Rivan. I watched as her deep blue eyes stared up at Missouri, and my heart ached at the sorrow I saw there. "Actually I'd like to go lie down for a little while," she said in a small voice. "I…sometimes I handle things better when I sleep. If I can get to sleep," she added as she glanced out the window longingly. I wanted her to stay with me and Missouri, but I knew when my friend asked for solitude it was for a good reason. Like she said, sometimes it helped her deal with tough situations.

I could tell Missouri knew this, even though she had just met Rivan. But I could also tell that, like me, she wished Rivan would stay with us. "Alright," she said, somewhat reluctantly. "If you need us we'll be in the kitchen."

Rivan nodded. "Okay. Thanks Missouri." Before she turned to go upstairs Rivan reached out and pulled me into a tight, almost fierce hug, and I could feel her small body trembling. "You're my best friend," she whispered to me as we hugged. "More than a best friend. You're my sister and I don't know what I'd do without you. Just know that I love you and I'd do anything for you, okay?"

I frowned as I held onto her. Missouri, sensing we needed a moment, had already gone into the kitchen to fix the tea. "Of course I know that, Rivvie," I said as my friend shivered. I held her tightly. Something was wrong. Something more than Sam and Dean going off to fight. "Are you okay?" I asked her softly, carefully.

She gave me a little squeeze before she pulled back and looked at me. "No," she said as she wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm just being…I'm just very emotional right now. All the stress and stuff has got me saying things that I always want to say but don't say as much as I should and now it's just all spilling out. You know what I mean?" she asked as she tilted her head and gazed at me.

"Yeah I can understand that," I said as I studied her. "I don't think you should be alone," I suddenly blurted. "You should come in the kitchen with me and Missouri and have some tea. Please Rivvie?" I pleaded.

She shook her head. "I don't want to," she told me. "I want to lie down and rest. I'm okay, Eden. Really I am. Or as okay as I can get right now," she added with an attempt at a laugh.

I sighed and nodded. "Well…okay. If you're sure."

"I am," she said, and suddenly she was pulling away from me. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Sure," I said as I watched her climb the stairs. I stood there until I heard her go into the room we shared and close the door, and then with a heavy sigh I went into the kitchen. There was a cup of tea on the table ready for me, and Missouri had set out cream and sugar, along with a plate of cookies.

"Is Rivan okay?" she asked me as she sat down to her own tea.

"As okay as she can get, like she told me," I replied as I sat down too. We didn't say anything after that for several minutes, and just to give myself something to do I added cream and sugar to my tea and then nibbled on a cookie. They were oatmeal raisin, my least favorite kind. But I ate it anyway.

We were still sitting there, lost in our dark thoughts, when we heard it. The sound of a car engine suddenly roared to life, and it was coming from the front yard. "What in the world?" Missouri said as she looked up sharply. "Surely they can't be back already!"

"No, that sounded like a car starting up," I said as I shot out of my chair. "Or least I thought it did." Then out of the blue a terrible thought slammed into me with the force of a sledge hammer. Rivan's strange behavior rushed back to me, as did Bobby's complaint of his lost keys. "Oh God!" I suddenly screamed. "God no! _**Missouri, she's leaving**_!" I bellowed as I took off out of the kitchen. I heard Missouri shouting after me as she got up too, begging me to come back. I didn't listen. I ran into the living room and to the front door, and I ripped it open so fast and hard it struck the wall behind it as it swung open. I flew out of the house and came to stand in the middle of the yard, thankful for the protective spells that Missouri had around the entire property.

Those spells would keep things out, but they couldn't keep them in. Especially overly stubborn, crazy best friends. I stood there in the freezing cold night as I watched the headlights on Bobby's car come to life. I let out a scream when I saw Rivan in the driver's seat, and for a moment she looked up at me. I could see the pain in her eyes, and the forgiveness she was asking for already. Then before I could blink she had that car turned around and she was hauling butt out of the yard and onto the road, burning rubber as she went.

"NO RIVVIE!" I screamed after her desperately, though I knew it was too late. "RIVVIE, DAMN YOU, NO!" I stood there and screamed a few more times, and then suddenly Missouri had a hold of me.

"You've got to calm down and stop that," she told me, her voice urgent. "And you've got to come back inside. There's nothing you can do to stop her now, Eden."

"Yes there is!" I snapped, sobbing now. I tore back inside and Missouri followed me, closing the door and locking it. I ignored her as I grabbed my cell phone that I had left on one of the many tables in the living room. I pulled up Sam's cell number on it and hit call, pressing the phone against my ear. I waited as it rang and rang.

"Come on, come on!" I moaned, and then there was a click and I got Sam's voice mail. "_**NO**_!" I roared in frustration. I swore rather violently and then called Dean's number next. I got his voice mail too, and I screamed again. I was going to leave a message on his at least, and when the phone beeped I started to but then there was a click. Frowning, I looked down at my cell phone.

"I'm not getting a signal!" I howled as I shook the stupid phone. "Why am I not getting a signal?" I wailed as I spun around to face Missouri, looking at her as though she would know the answer.

She shook her head. "Try the regular phone," she suggested quietly. The look on her face told me everything I already knew. We couldn't do anything. We couldn't stop Rivan. But of course I tried the regular phone anyway, and still all I got was voice mail on Dean's phone, and then Sam's again. I even tried Bobby, Ellen, and Jo and got the same thing.

"NO NO NO NO!" I raged, and in a severe fit of total fear and rage over my helplessness, I threw my cell phone across the room. It slammed into the wall hard and hit the floor, and I heard it crunch and break. "Why did she do this?" I demanded of Missouri. "And why didn't you know she was going to do it?" I added as I glared at the older woman. "You're supposed to be a psychic! Why didn't you know so you could warn Sam?"

"Darlin', I can't see everything," she told me, her voice so gentle and soft I immediately felt guilty for yelling at her. "Even I have my limits."

I stood there for a moment and just stared, and then I started to sob again. I ran to Missouri and threw myself into her arms. "I'm sorry," I wailed as she held me. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, I didn't mean to…I'm so scared, Rivan's out there at the cemetery and so is Sam and Dean and…" Suddenly I pulled back and stared up at Missouri. "Will they survive?" I asked her, and now my voice was quiet, steady. "Missouri…will they be okay?" I asked, looking up at her with desperate eyes.

The older black lady sighed very deeply then. "I don't know," she told me as she looked me in the eyes. "Darlin'…I just don't know." I let out a moan and clung to her, still crying. She held me and we were both quiet for a moment. Then she spoke again.

"But I do know one thing," she said, and her voice was dead serious. "If they do all get out of this alive…may the good Lord have mercy on that poor girl's behind, because Sam Winchester sure won't."

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><p><strong>AN: Well that's it for now! I hope you all liked it well enough. Like I said, I have no idea when eighteen will be ready. I'll do my best as always! Anyway, if you have a moment and would like to, please leave a review! And as usual thank you for your interest and support of my story! It keeps me writing! :-)**


	18. Lenora's Heir

**A/N: Well, here it is, finally! I am so sorry it took me this long to get this done. I've had a rough month. I got sick, and then my dad got sick and had to go into the hospital again. He's back home now and is doing okay. Then we had a lot of drama involving other family members that made things even worse for everyone. For quite a while I was _very_ stressed and as a result I got the worse writer's block I have ever had with this story. It was terrible! But finally I got this chapter done. I hope it's okay and I hope everyone likes it well enough. I am SO nervous about it. I know I've said that about a lot of my chapters, but I've never felt as nervous about any of the others like I do with this one.**

**Well, I don't have much more to say other than my usual stuff. Thank you so much to all of those that reviewed the last chapter, as always your thoughts are very appreciated! Please forgive any mistakes you may find while reading and thank you all for hanging in there and waiting! Happy reading everyone! :-)**

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><p>Annoyed, I swiped at the tears that were pouring down my face. I kept my eyes on the road and tried to keep my mind on it too, but the mental picture of Eden standing in Bobby's front yard and screaming at me kept popping up in my mind. I saw the horror, the fear, and the anger so clearly in her face, and it was devastating. But I had still peeled out of there and left her standing in the yard by herself, practically howling. Yep, it's official. I am a sucky friend.<p>

"I'm sorry Eden," I whispered, and then nearly swore when a raccoon came out of nowhere, right in front of me. I shrieked instead and swerved to avoid the critter, and I came very close to running myself off the road.

Oh yeah, that would have been great. I had gone and made all my great plans, went through hell to set them up, snuck away from the house and pulled everything off…only to be run off the road by Ricky the raccoon. "Brilliant Rivan," I growled at myself as I got Bobby's car back on the road. I couldn't afford the luxury of beating myself up over my actions right now. Right now I had to focus on what I was doing and what I was about to do.

So I sucked in a deep, ragged breath and drove on. I picked up my cell phone on the seat next to me and looked at the time. I hoped I had given Sam and his group enough time to get to the cemetery and get in place for the battle. It would be awful if I caught up to them still on the road, or pulled up behind them as they were all getting out of their cars. I know for a fact that Dean has a pair of handcuffs in the trunk of the Impala. And I also know for a fact he would have no problem letting Sam use them to handcuff me to the steering wheel. I had no intentions of letting that happen.

I gave my head a little shake to clear my mind, and I drove on through the night.

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><p>James Talvon, King of vampires, stood in the middle of the quiet, cold cemetery. He stood with his legs spread slightly apart and his hands clasped behind his back. He listened to the sounds brought to his keen ears by the still night air, picking out and identifying each and every one of them. Though the cricket's song had gone silent when the vampires had arrived, he could still hear them as they moved through the grass, slowly and carefully. He could hear the other insects that were roaming around with them as well, such as the ants that were trying to get in a few more days of harvesting before the true cold set in and drove them under ground.<p>

Beyond that he could catch the quick movements and the fluttering heart beat of the many warm blooded creatures that moved through the night. He could hear their blood flowing through their bodies, and he could even smell the wild tang that blood possessed. Disgust caused his lip to curl. He had heard there were some vampires in the world that actually fed on the blood of animals, instead of humans like they should. And the explanation for their revolting actions was as ridiculous as they were. These "vegetarian" vampires claimed that they did not want to harm humans, but live among them peacefully. To James these vampires were a very poor example of his kind, and really not vampires at all. Once the world was his, he planned on wiping them all out. They were no better than the humans they so stupidly refused to feed off of.

James took a deep, sharp breath as his mind drifted off that subject and back to identifying the creatures around him. In the trees he could hear night birds moving from one branch to another, and he knew they were nervous. Any bird that had been in the trees near the cemetery had flown off as soon as James and the other vampires had appeared, and now the birds that he was hearing were miles away. But he could still hear their nervous movements as though they were right above him.

For a few minutes James just simply stood there, his black eyes taking in everything there was to see, and more. Then finally after another few minutes of listening to the pointless little creatures all around him, he caught the sound he'd been looking for. James went completely still and narrowed his eyes as he listened. Yes. There it was. The sound of tires on the pavement. Slowly a twisted, wicked smile split his face in half. He drew in another deep breath and let it out slowly. He then gave a small signal that only a select few would have been able to see, and suddenly he was flanked by two other vampires.

"My Lord?" the one on his right said quietly.

Still smiling, James lifted his face to gaze at the full moon above them. It was shining its pale light all over the cemetery, and it made the headstones look ghostly yet pitiful. "Our prey approaches," he said casually as he kept his eyes on the moon. "The Winchesters and their army," he added, his tone turning into a sneer on the word "army". He was interested in seeing how many people the brothers brought with them to fight. Not that it mattered. They wouldn't win.

"Move into position," James ordered the two. These two were his most loyal followers. His right hand men, so to speak. They were smart and fast, cruel and vicious. The only complaint James had about them was their names. They had chosen the most ridiculous human names for themselves. Jeff and Marty. How insanely unimaginative! But, in the end, their names mattered not. He was using them because of their exceptional skills and their ability to obey every order. They had helped him take down many enemies in the past. Tonight they would do so again.

"Make sure everyone knows where they need to be," James continued. "I will not accept failure of any kind," he added, and his tone dropped to a silky, dangerous murmur.

"Of course, my Lord," the vampire named Jeff answered swiftly. Marty merely nodded his understanding.

"Go then," James told them, his tone sharp now. "They have approached the cemetery," he added as his eyes slid out of focus, as they always did when he was identifying coming enemies. "Six," he added as he listened to the sound of people getting out of cars and making their way toward the middle of the cemetery.

"They only have six with them. Six…plus the Winchesters. Eight of them total." James went completely still then, and his tongue shot out just a little, the way a snake does when its sniffing out its prey. "They do not have the woman with them," he told the two vampires, and they shifted uncomfortably. James was known for having terrible raging fits when things did not go his way. And during these fits someone always lost their head. Literally. "But," James continued as he narrowed his eyes. "They carry with them a sample of her blood," he muttered as he caught the scent.

He inhaled sharply. Oh yes. The girl was definitely Lenora's heir. The scent of her blood was heady, exotic, just as Lenora's had been. Only this blood was stronger, given that it came from an actual human. And if James was correct, he could even sense the power in it, the magic inherited from Lenora. Lenora had had many powers, and even more secrets. Most James had only just learned about. She had been gifted, and some form of a gift had obviously been passed down to this girl.

But he had failed to realize it all those months ago, when he had the girl at his mercy. He'd even smelled and sampled her blood. It had not smelled like this at that time, and it had not tasted like anything out of the ordinary. If it had he would have never let her walk away. What he would have given to know the entire truth long before now. Damn Lenora for not telling him all that he had learned only days ago.

Annoyed with the knowledge that had almost come too late and the fact that the Winchesters had not brought the girl, James closed his eyes and let out a terrible snarl that echoed all around the cemetery. Jeff and Marty wisely left. James breathed in deeply yet again. The smell of her blood was intoxicating and all consuming. If that small sample of her precious liquid was this powerful, imagine what the actual vessel would be like! Damn them for not bringing her as he had demanded! He opened his mouth and let out another snarl, and this time he allowed his fangs to make an appearance. No matter, though, no matter. He and his fellow vampires would slaughter these hunters, and then they would take Lenora's heir.

James felt a twinge of regret. He had hoped to take the Winchester men alive. As the soon to be ruler of the world, he had plans for them. But the fight had yet to begin. Perhaps it would still be possible. As the group drew closer to him, James felt a surge of power from the blood that they carried with them. He still felt a terrible rage at them for not bringing the actual girl. But in a way that was a good thing. His rage would only make him stronger.

James stood there silently as he listened to the hunters as they moved into place. Around him James' own army moved quietly, like fanged shadows slithering in and out of view, as they too prepared for the coming fight. He could hear and identify every single one of them as they moved. He could still hear the hunters, and now they were moving in closer and spreading out, no doubt hoping to cover every angle possible. James smiled softly. Fools.

Suddenly, he caught the sound of a hushed voice. "What the hell are you doing?" the voice snarled quietly. "We agreed that I'd do it!" James smiled softly as he identified the voice as belonging to the oldest Winchester brother, Dean.

Another voice answered back. "No, _you_ agreed that you would do it. I told you _I_ was going to do it. You just didn't want to hear it." James' smiled grew wider. Ah yes. And there was dear Sam.

"Sam!" the voice of Dean snapped. "Get back here!"

Upon hearing that James let out a soft but carrying laugh. "Ah!" he cried out as he spread his arms wide. "So it is to be Sam who delivers the sample of blood, is it?" A dead silence followed his words, and then James heard a rustle about twenty feet right in front of him. Of course he'd had the location of the brothers targeted long before they had started talking. The sound of the rustling stopped, and seconds later a tall, strong figure stepped out. He took a few steps forward until he was in the moonlight, and James smiled a terrible smile.

"Sam Winchester," he greeted the younger man. "So we meet again. Of course I knew we would, one way or another. Though, I do have to say that I pictured our second face-to-face meeting in a much different way."

"I'm sure you did," Sam replied quietly, dangerously. Good. He had brought all of himself to this battle. How remarkable it would be to watch him in action.

"I'm so glad you could come," James continued. "And I can see that you've brought a few friends with you. Your brother of course, and six other hunters. Hmmm," James breathed in deeply and smiled again. "Their blood is so rich, so inviting. However," he added as he locked eyes with the youngest Winchester, who was still staring at him. "Not near as rich and inviting as the blood you carry in your hand." James lowered his eyes a bit and zoned in on Sam's right hand, which was closed in a fist around a small glass bottle. "The blood of the one that will make everything right again," James said as his eyes snapped back to Sam's face. "And yet, she is not here," he said quietly. "Why did you not bring her as I demanded?"

Sam shook his head. "I didn't come here with the intentions of offering Rivan to you," he said, his tone hard. "She's safe and you're never going to lay eyes on her again. I came here to offer you a deal," Sam continued after a moment's pause. "Rivan isn't part of it, but this is," he added, and he held up the small bottle that contained the best smelling blood that James had ever encountered. James eyed it for a moment and then glanced back at Sam, waiting. "It's yours, along with the ring, if you agree to one thing."

James smiled faintly. "And what might that be?" he asked casually.

"That you leave us alone," Sam answered. "And by us, I mean Rivan, me, Dean, and Eden, along with all of our friends and their families."

James stared at him for a moment, and then laughed another soft, chilling laugh. "Are you truly telling me that you're willing to sacrifice the entire world just to ensure the safety of those closest to you?" James asked, one eyebrow up. "Come now. That doesn't sound like the Sam Winchester I've heard so much about! The Sam Winchester I've heard about from so many would sacrifice _himself_, or at least try to, to save the world and everyone that he loves. He always has in the past. But yet now…he would turn the world over to me just to save a handful of people? I find that hard to believe."

"Well believe it," Sam said. "Because it's the truth. I learned a long time ago that I can't save everyone. So I might as well save the ones I love the most." James watched as Sam held the bottle up again, and then lifted his other hand. "Here's the blood," Sam told him. "And here's the ring. Take them both and leave us all alone. That's the deal."

James said nothing as he took a step forward, his eyes focused only on the ring. The last ring the youngest Winchester had given him had proven to be false. He would not be surprised if that was the case this time. Last time, he had been unable to tell until he had actually tried to perform the spell. This time he would be able to tell just by looking. He had learned a few tricks since his last encounter with the Winchesters.

It only took James a handful of seconds before he knew what he was dealing with. Rage filled him like molten lava, and he let loose with a bone shaking snarl that most would not only cringe from, but run from. He noted that Sam Winchester stayed put, and he stayed still. He was not a runner. He was not a coward. He was strong in every sense, and despite his fury James was pleased to see this. It only made him more determined to carry out the plans he had for this man.

But that part would come later, when victory was his. For now, all would feel his wrath. James let out another spine curling snarl, and then he hissed at the hunter that stood before him, watching with hard, cold eyes. "I must say," James began once he had calmed down somewhat. "I am a bit disappointed in you, Sam. I never would have thought you would try the same trick twice."

James watched as Sam frowned at him. "What are you talking about?" he demanded.

James laughed again, and this time the sound was loud and harsh. "Stupid human," he growled sharply. "Did you really and truly think you could come here and offer me yet another false ring? Honestly, I thought you were smarter than that!"

Sam's frown grew more intense, and he glanced at the ring he was holding and then at James. "What the hell are you talking about?" he asked again. "This isn't a fake. This is the real ring."

"Liar," James replied smoothly. "You hold another fake in your hand, and you are trying to convince me to take it. I fell for it last time, because I did not have the knowledge that I needed to see through your deception. But this time…ah yes, this time I am stronger. The ring you are offering me is not the true ring. You will pay for this, Sam Winchester. All of those people that you wanted to save…they will die. Slowly and painfully. I may even kill your brother as well. The only one that will remain safe from this fate is your darling Rivan."

With that James turned away, ignoring the yells of the human behind him. He looked up at the moon again, closed his eyes and then opened his mouth, allowing the light from the moon to shine down on his fangs. He opened his eyes, ready to give the signal to his army. In mere minutes all the hunters gathered around would be dead, torn completely apart. James smiled and opened his mouth wider, ready to give the order.

And then suddenly something quite unexpected and wonderful happen. Out of nowhere James was struck by a rush of power that overwhelmed him so much it nearly lifted him off of his feet.

He pulled his eyes away from the moon and whipped around, searching for the source. He listened hard as the power flowed through him, much like an electric current and with the force of several hundred freight trains. It was the feeling he had experienced when Lenora was near him, only now it was so much stronger.

A smile twisted his face again. Of course he knew where this power was coming from. Yes. _YES_! The Winchesters may not have brought the girl themselves, but she was here. The darling, perfect little thing had followed them. He could smell her blood as it pulsed through her small body. He could hear her breath as she moved with a purposeful stride, and he could feel her anger and her determination. All these feelings she was having seemed to make the power in her stronger with every passing second. That power and the force of it was more than James could ever hope for.

As James stood there in the middle of that cemetery, he began to laugh. At first only softly, but as wave after wave of luscious power washed over him, his laughter got louder and stranger, and overcome by the feeling of the girl so near, he threw his head back and let out a barking, mad laugh that echoed throughout the cemetery.

The sound of his laughter continued on as his beautiful weapon drew closer to him.

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><p>"Damnit Sam, what did you do to set him off like that?" Dean snarled at his brother as the vampire in the middle of the cemetery continued to get his freak on. The thing had gone completely berserk.<p>

"I didn't do anything!" Sam snapped back. "He said the ring is fake! It's not! How can it be?"

"It doesn't matter right now!" Dean said as he sprang to his feet. "We need to take him down now, while he's goin' nuts!" Dean charged then, two long knives in his hand. As he moved toward his brother the cemetery suddenly erupted in violence. The other hunters had sprung into action as well, and the fighting had started. As Dean reached Sam, he saw Russell the weirdo swinging his own knife around, and Dean saw a vamp head fly. At least the jerk was finally proving to be useful.

"Here!" Dean said harshly as he gave Sam one of the knives he was holding. Sam took it without a word, tossed the bottle of blood aside, shoved the ring in his pocket, and turned toward James with a savage look on his face. Sam charged at the vampire, moving fast and putting Dean several feet behind him. Dean watched in amazement as his little brother moved fluidly, showing his years of training and experience. Sooner than Dean expected Sam reached the creature and, holding the handle of the knife in both hands, he swung hard, ready to take the thing's head off. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as the knife got closer to James' neck. The sounds of the battle were muted, and Dean could only focus on Sam and the vampire King. Sam was going to get his chance to kill the ugly sucker sooner than Dean thought he would, and he found himself praying for a quick ending to this fight.

For a few more seconds everything seemed to be going okay, and then in the space of a heartbeat it changed. As Sam moved toward the vampire, James whirled around to meet him, moving with lightning speed. Dean watched in horror as the monster slammed his hand into Sam's chest, and he let out a shocking string of curses as Sam's body flew high and then landed hard. The knife Sam had been holding was gone, and Dean couldn't even see where it had gone. Yelling and swearing, Dean made his own charge toward the vampire King. Seconds later he suddenly found himself flying through the air as well, his own knife lost. He hit the ground hard, right on his back, and could only lie there and stare up at the starry night for several moments. A sick feeling exploded in his stomach, but he ignored it and got to his feet as fast as he could, frantically looking around for Sam.

The sight that greeted him nearly gave him heart failure on the spot. James was still in the middle of the cemetery, kneeling there on the ground. He had Sam in a deadly head lock, and it seemed that the rest of Sam's body was paralyzed, because he wasn't moving at all. His eyes were open and he was giving James a death stare, but he wasn't fighting.

Over the sound of the rest of the battle that was raging on around them, James bellowed. Not at Sam or at Dean, but at someone apparently only he could see. "Come out my beautiful love, come out!" he roared, and Dean blinked and shook his head, totally confused and more scared than he had been in a long time. "COME OUT NOW OR I SWEAR I WILL KILL HIM!"

James was staring off at the other side of the cemetery, as though waiting for someone to appear. Frowning, Dean followed his gaze. At first all he saw was a group of bushes, and then they rustled and someone stepped out.

Dean could literally feel the blood drain from his face. Rivan was standing there, and the insane little brat had a gun to her head. _Oh God no_. Was all Dean could think. Before he could think beyond that, suddenly all around him the battle came to an abrupt halt. Frowning at the silence, Dean looked around. He could see Jo and Ellen nearby, and not far from them Bobby was in the middle of cutting a vamp's head off. But the thing about that was…he wasn't moving. He was standing there completely still, and the long knife he was holding was just about to cut into the vamp's neck.

But the vamp was just as still as Bobby. So were Jo and Ellen, and the other three hunters that had come with them. All the vamps and humans were frozen in place, as though someone had hit the pause button. The only ones free to move were Dean, James, and Rivan. Dean glared at the vampire King, knowing that this was some kind of trick summoned up by him. Damnit.

Feeling himself shake from head to toe, Dean looked back at Sam, who was still trapped in James' death grip and just as frozen as everyone else. But he was staring directly at Rivan. Dean watched as several emotions crossed his brother's face. Disbelief, denial, horror, dread, fear, and total rage played across Sam's features. And then the agony came. Sam had gone through a lot of painful things in his life, both emotional and physical, but Dean had never seen this kind of agony on his brother's face before. That look tore Dean to shreds.

"No," Dean muttered, and then raw fury had him yelling. "**NO! DAMN YOU RIVAN, RUN**! **DO IT NOW DAMNIT**!" Dean watched as she shot him a frantic look, and she shook her head at him and looked back at James, who was still holding Sam.

"Put that gun down and come to me, my love," the vampire purred at her. Rivan didn't move, and James snapped. "I _will_ kill him!" he snarled at her as he tightened his grip on Sam. Then his fangs popped out and slowly, torturously, he leaned down toward Sam. "I will rip his throat out while you stand and watch!" He let out a vicious snarl then and lunged toward Sam's exposed throat, and then a terrible scream rent the air, and the crack of a gun suddenly echoed around the cemetery.

Dean bellowed and swore violently for a moment, but then silence reigned once more as he came to realize what had happened. Dean stared at Rivan as she stood there, the gun pointed at James. Eyes wide, Dean glanced at the vampire and watched as a bright red spot slowly appeared on his right shoulder. James wasn't moving. All he was doing was staring at the woman before him. Dean glanced back at her, and though he could see that Rivan's lips were trembling, the hand that held the gun was strong and steady.

As she stood there she looked at the vampire King, and her dark blue eyes flared and danced with rage. "If you so much as leave one scratch on him, you son of a bitch, I promise you I'll make hell look like Disneyland before I'm done with you."

Dean stared at the small woman, and he couldn't help but smile in grim appreciation of her words and her strong stance. He glanced over at Sam then and saw he was not alone in his thoughts. Sam was staring at Rivan too, and though he still looked more pissed than Dean had ever seen him, he was smiling a grim, yet satisfied smile at her as well.

Taking a deep breath, Dean looked back at Rivan, and the silence ticked on as everyone waited for the next move to be made.

* * *

><p>I stood there in that awful cemetery, and I didn't dare take my eyes off James. My heart was pounding so hard I thought for sure it would pop right out of my chest any second now. I had just shot the vampire King in the shoulder. I knew it hadn't done any real damage to him, but it had been enough to give him pause. Shoot, it had been enough to give me pause! I couldn't believe I had done it. And I couldn't believe that I was standing here in a cemetery full of vampires and hunters, with four syringes full of dead man's blood tucked in the back of my jeans. That had been the only place I could stash them. The needles had caps on them and the needles were pointing up toward my back, but still I hated the fact that they were back there.<p>

Of course, that was not the most important thing right now. I had several more pressing things to worry about. Like for instance, why had everyone just suddenly stopped in mid motion? Everyone but me and Dean, that is. I suppose I could thank James for that. But why had he hit the pause button on everyone, including his own people? I had no answers to any of my questions, and figuring that I wouldn't get any real soon, I focused on the most important problem that was right in front of me.

I stared hard at James, and I had never wanted someone dead in my life more than I did at that moment. Right now this monster had my Sam, and was threatening to kill him. Geez, _really_ bad thing to say to the woman that was crazy in love with the man James was threatening to kill. Especially since James had already ruined my life by taking my parents from me. But in the end I realized that James knew what he was doing. He held all of the cards now. He knew I'd do whatever he asked in order to keep Sam safe. And I hated him for it. I stood there and gave that vampire my most hateful stare. I had yet to look at Sam. The pain, fear, and rage I knew I would see in his eyes would be my undoing.

So I stayed focused on James, and after a few more seconds of staring at me, he slowly turned his head just a bit to take in the wound on his shoulder. He studied it for a moment and then looked back at me with that damn sick smile on his face.

"Well!" he boomed out, and I had to fight hard not to jump. "I can see Sam has taught you well! Congratulations, my dear, on doing something no one has been able to do for over fifteen hundred years! You've made me bleed! Excellent, my love, excellent! Oh, I can see Lenora in you already!" he added gleefully. God, he was making me sick.

"Shut up!" I screamed at him, feeling my composure crack. And then I went and contradicted my order by asking a question. "What did you do to Sam?" I demanded. "Why isn't he moving?" My eyes scanned his body quickly, though my gaze did not meet his. Indeed he had not moved at all since James had gotten a hold of him. And he had not said one word. By now I would have thought he'd be bellowing at me, even if he was being held hostage by the vampire King. But not one syllable had passed his lips.

James laughed as he watched me. "Well, the simple fact of the matter is, he can't. He cannot move, he cannot speak. I've placed upon him a very old and very powerful paralyzing spell. Not a permanent one," he added quickly when my mouth flew open. "He will be controlled by it until I say otherwise. And I must tell you, it feels wonderful to be able to cast the spell again. I have not been able to cast it since my Lenora was so brutally taken from me." He stared at me, and as he did his fangs grew even longer.

"She made me strong, you see," he said softly. "The power within her. It enabled me to do so many things. But the moment her life was taken from her, it was all gone. I was left with almost nothing. But now you are here, and you give me the strength she once gave me. Just look at your other friends!" he continued. "See how they are frozen? They can hear every word we say, but they cannot move. The same with my people." James went silent for a moment as he studied me thoughtfully. While he did, Dean suddenly began to move toward him, slowly and quietly. But he hadn't moved more than a few steps when James spoke again.

"One more step and I'll rip your brother's head off and throw it at you," he told Dean calmly, without taking his eyes off of me. From where I was standing I could see Dean's eyes nearly pop out of his head, and as you can imagine he stopped moving.

"You know," James continued as though none of this had happened. "I could just lift the spell from my people and let them rip everyone apart. But alas, that wouldn't be near as entertaining. Besides, I wanted to see how powerful you've made me. I wanted to test it, to see how far I could go!" James paused for a moment, and the look on his face suddenly became fierce. "Also, I learn from my mistakes," he continued quietly. "The last time I attempted to control humanity, as is my right, my own kind attacked. Not this time," James said as he gazed at the vampire closest to him, hissing slightly. "Some of them need to be reminded of who their master is on a regular basis. This is an excellent way to do just that."

James looked away from the frozen vamp and back at me, smiling. "But just look! It's beautiful! Ah, the strength I have now is astounding! And it's all thanks to you, my dear! Had you not shown up, I never would have been able to demonstrate such glorious power!" he added happily.

It felt like someone had punched me in the stomach about one hundred thousand times. Cas had been right. My presence only made James stronger. Oh, damn my stupid hide! But it wasn't over yet, right? It wasn't even anywhere near being over. Any moment now that power that I had been so sure of would come to me, and I would be able to beat James, or at least help take him down. No, it was not over yet.

But obviously James thought it was over, or at least the talking part. He'd had enough of it, and he made sure I knew. "Enough of this standing around," he suddenly snapped at me. I flinched and glanced at Dean, and then at the others. They were all as still as they could be. Shaking my head, I looked back at James, and his smile grew wider. "Surrender yourself to me, or I will kill him," he told me simply. He waited, never taking his ugly eyes off of me.

Another bout of fury hit me then, and I drew myself up, ready to make my own deal. But then suddenly I caught Sam's eye for the first time. I stood there and gazed into his beautiful hazel eyes, and I saw no rage in them, no hate, nor pointless agony. I merely saw one plea. One small, desperate final plea.

_Run_.

I jerked as though I had heard him speak, ever so softly, begging me to save myself. For the first time since I had stepped out into that cemetery, tears filled my eyes. I looked back at him and shook my head as the tears began to run down my face. At the sight of my refusal that plea grew stronger and harder to take in, yet harder to ignore.

_Run_. _Please run_. _Save yourself_.

I shook my head again. "You wouldn't run if you were in my place," I told him, speaking out loud. James blinked and looked down at Sam and then back at me. I ignored him. "You would never run if you were standing here, trying to save me," I added, and my voice broke as emotion got the better of me.

I literally cringed as I watched the agony explode in Sam's eyes. His eyes actually slid closed for a moment, and then opened again, sending me the same plea once more. "I can't," I moaned softly. "Sam, I'm sorry, I can't!" I looked away from him, but not before I saw a single tear fall from his right eye and slowly make its way down his face. I felt my heart wither and crack inside me, and then my fury came back. I stood straight, looked right at James, and put the gun to my head again. I had come out like that, but it had not seemed to faze James then. This time it would.

"If you kill him I swear I'll blow my brains out all over this cemetery!" I snarled at him. "And then where will you be? How will you cast your spell on the ring without me?"

James snarled ever so softly as he stared at me and then at the gun I had pointed at my head. For a moment he said nothing, and then he smiled a cold smile. "I think another good question to ask is, how will I cast my spell on the ring…without the ring? Even if I had you, it would be pointless!" he added with a spat. "The ring your darling Sam gave me is yet another fake. So it would appear that I will just have to torture you until Sam agrees to give up the real ring."

My heart did several back flips at that, and I looked at Sam again to see that the agonized look in his eyes had gotten even worse. Oh God, I couldn't take much more of this! But I would have to. If I wanted to win in the end, I'd have to. I had started this, and I couldn't back down now. So I looked back at James, and I gave him my own cold smile.

"The ring Sam has _is_ a fake," I told the vampire. "That much is true. I would know better than anyone, because I'm the one that exchanged it for the real one," I added, and this time I refused to look at Sam. There was no way I'd survive the look he'd give me this time. So I kept my eyes fixed firmly on James. "So if you want me and the real ring, you're gonna have to let Sam go."

For several long, horrible minutes James just stared at me. Then finally he spoke. Well, actually he hissed at me first, and then spoke. "Show me the ring first!" he snarled as he lowered his fangs toward Sam's neck again.

The sight made me sick, and trying to stay calm I plunged my hand into the left pocket on my jeans and pulled the ring out. I kept it hidden in my hand as I did, and after taking a deep breath, I held it between my thumb and forefinger and lifted it up high so James could see it.

Then everything went to hell in a hand basket.

The moment I held the ring up and the light from the moon above touched it, three beams of light shot from the stone set in the ring. They were all a bright, incandescent blue, just like the blue fire the stone held within. My eyes went huge as I stared at the lights, and my mouth fell open as they moved straight up into the sky. For a moment they twisted and turned in the sky in all different directions, and then suddenly they all came together, slamming into each other at the same time and sending up a flare of light in the sky that nearly blinded me. I heard Dean swear loudly as the light hit him and then bathed the entire cemetery along with everyone there. It stayed that way for a moment before it dimmed a bit. After blinking the light flashes out of my eyes, I looked up to see that the three beams of light had condensed into a bright blue ball of light that hovered directly over James and Sam.

And James was laughing again. It was that mad, spine tingling laugh that he had been doing only minutes ago, and I watched in growing fear as he continued. Then he stopped and looked at me, and suddenly the ground directly beneath my feet began to rumble. I screamed and backed off only to stumble once and, of course, drop my gun. Before I could even think to lean down and scoop it up, it shot into the air as quickly as the light beams had, then it zoomed off and slammed into the nearest tree. Hard.

I'm sure it didn't break because it was a Glock after all, but even if it was still in working order it did me no good. It was now far out of reach, and I had nothing left to protect myself with. Nor did I have any bargaining chips left on the table. Oh, and it might be interesting to point out that I suddenly realized I couldn't let go of the ring. I couldn't even lower the hand that was holding it. And then to add to my growing panic, I was suddenly lifted off my feet. It felt like a huge, strong hand had grabbed me by the hand that was holding the ring, and just pulled me up. I let out a cry of shock and fear, and I screamed as I began to literally float toward James.

"Dean!" I cried out before I could stop myself. "Help me!" I heard Dean swear, and I looked over at him. I saw him jump to his feet and start toward me, but he had only taken two steps before he suddenly froze, standing as still as everyone else.

"Now, now," James said softly as I continued to float right to him. "We can't have any more heroics tonight. Yours was the best, my dear," he added as I was brought to a halt right in front of him. "And it was more than enough," he said. He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers, and I came crashing down to the ground. It hurt like hell and I groaned in pain, but the pain was forgotten as I looked up. My eyes went wide, and I started to cry when I saw what was happening. Sam had taken my place in the air, his limp body floating away from James and toward Dean.

"Do you know how easy it would be to slam him into a tree?" James murmured as he watched Sam. "Or fling him miles away from here? Oh my darling Rivan, the power you have given me is wonderful! I could take your Sam and drive him into the ground just by simply thinking it!"

_Oh God_, _please no_. "_**NO**_!" I screamed in agony. "No, please! Don't hurt him!" I begged the vampire. "Please! Please don't hurt him!"

James snorted softly. "Hurt him?" he repeated in disbelief. "No, no. Though it is tempting to show off my powers, I will not. You need not worry, my beautiful darling. I have so many plans for him. I could never carry them out if I maimed him. So do not fear for your brave Sam. He will stay in one piece, as will Dean." I whimpered as I watched Sam float closer to Dean and, when he was right next to his brother, he fell to the ground just as I had. I winced at the sound of the impact.

I looked up at James then, and I swore at him in a way I had never done before. My words were dark and filthy, vicious and hate filled. But the vampire looked down at me and merely smiled. Without a word he reached down and took the ring from my hand. Directly above us the bright blue ball suddenly began to tremble. I looked up at it, and as James stared at the ring that he held the ball of light suddenly exploded. I shielded my eyes as the light took over, and there was a strange crackling in the air all around me. When it seemed that the light died down a bit I looked up, and my mouth fell open. The ball of light had dissipated and spread out, forming what looked like a flat plate right above James' head. The vampire laughed softly as he looked directly up at the light. As soon as he did, the light began to spread even further.

My head was spinning and my shoulder was throbbing from the pain of falling minutes ago, and I watched in confusion as the light spread itself thin in the sky. It continued to grow until it was covering both me and James. For a moment it hovered there, a gigantic glowing square of blue light. Then James smiled up at it, in an almost loving way, and lifted the ring toward the light. Another beam of bright blue shot out of the center of the ring, and it flew up high, looking as bright as a flare. It traveled toward the light above us, and seconds later it collided with it. The beam hit the middle of its target, causing a ripple effect that started out slowly and then quickly picked up speed.

I watched in horrified fascination as the ripple effect suddenly broke into fours, and each one began to travel toward the four corners of the square of light. As soon as each one hit, the corners began to angle down toward the ground, growing and thinning out from the main mass of blue light. And finally my stupid brain kicked into gear.

James was dropping a shield around us, and I knew if that shield got into place there was no way anyone would be able to reach me. Without any kind of hesitation I let out a scream of fury and lunged toward the vampire King. James didn't even look at me as he held a hand up, his palm facing me. I froze in place for a moment and seconds later I found myself flat on my face. I was only there for a few seconds before I was suddenly on my feet again. Instantly I tried to run, but to my horror I found I could not move. I stood there in helplessness as the shield continued to form around us. I tried to scream but nothing came out except a low moan.

The four corners of the light touched the ground at the same time, and there was a slight booming sound. Seconds later I realized I was able to move, and I stumbled forward a little,then stopped. I stood there and turned in circles, taking it all in. James had formed a dome of energy around us, a transparent film of blue that would keep out any kind of help someone might try to give me. I was completely cut off from the world around us. Cut off from Sam. I felt my entire body start to tremble. Scared and enraged, I let out another scream and charged toward one side of the shield. I stopped just as I reached it and stood there and studied it. Taking a deep breath, I held my hand up and touched it.

Geez, was I ever sorry I did. As soon as my fingers touched the shield a vomit inducing pain shot into my hand. I screamed in agony and backed off quickly as the world around me began to spin. I felt bile rise in my throat and I hit my knees, coughing and spitting on the ground. I stayed like that for a moment, and when I could move again I slowly held my hand up, expecting to see nothing but a singed stub connected to my arm. I was greeted with the surprising but very relieving sight of a hand not injured at all. I wiggled my fingers to make sure everything was okay, and then I glared up at James.

"Stupid girl!" he shouted at me. "It's too late. No one can get in, and you certainly cannot get out! Get up!" he suddenly snarled, and in the next instant I was on my feet without even remembering trying to get there. "Look," James said, pointing off to his right. "They are free now to fight," he added, and I looked at the shield. I could see through it, not perfectly, but well enough to see that everyone was no longer frozen. I could see Ellen and Jo, along with Brad and Marshal, and they were fighting hard. I couldn't see Russell, and I had to wonder if he had abandoned us. Perhaps he had decided killing vampires was not worth it.

I pulled my eyes away from the four fighting hunters and looked desperately for the one that meant the most to me. My eyes found Sam quickly. He was on his feet now, thank God, and he was just standing there staring at the dome I was trapped in. Dean was beside him, staring too, and without taking his eyes off of the dome he handed Sam the long knife favored by hunters when killing vampires. At that very moment two vampires came at them. I watched as both Sam and Dean turned smoothly to meet them. The vampires didn't last long. Sam got one and Dean got the other. I watched as the two vampire heads flew high in the air, while the lifeless bodies sunk to the ground in a bloody pile. Then Sam and Dean turned back to the dome and started toward it.

Suddenly James let out a laugh, and I whirled to look at him. "Well!" he said as he watched Sam and Dean march toward us. "I didn't know the Winchester brothers were such formidable warriors! They just took down my best fighters! My right hand men, as you might call them," James added as he gazed at the dead bodies lying on the ground. "Apparently Jeff and Marty weren't as good as I thought them to be. No matter," he added, waving a dismissive hand at what was left of his "best" fighters. "They will soon be replaced with something _much_ better."

I shook my head and, no longer wishing to listen to what sounded to me like crazy rambling, I turned back to watch Sam and Dean as they got closer to the dome. "No!" I shouted, not sure if they could hear me. "Don't touch it, get back!" Well I guess they could hear me, or maybe they could read lips, because they both stopped and stared at the dome and then looked at me. I shook my head at them and took a step closer, focusing on Sam. "I'm sorry," I moaned, and the fierce look on his face melted into a gentle one, as he took a step closer. "I'm so sorry, Sam," I said as I kept my eyes on him. I opened my mouth, ready to tell him that I loved him, but suddenly an invisible hand wrapped itself around me. I screamed out in shock and fear, and then I felt myself being pulled backwards.

"No!" I screamed as I stretched both hands toward Sam. He was standing there watching in complete horror, and I could see his frustration over his helplessness. I started to cry as I was pulled further back, and I screamed out his name over and over. Sam's mouth was moving and I could hear his voice, but it was very faint and muffled, almost like he was under water. But I knew he was yelling my name. Then, holding the handle of the long knife in both hands, he raised it high over his head and brought it down right on the dome.

I screamed again because I was so sure he'd get hurt like I did earlier, but much to my shock nothing happened. Sam brought the knife down on the dome again, and sparks flew as the blade connected with the magic shield. He hit it fast and viciously, and for a moment I permitted myself to stupidly believe he could hack right through it. But, after a few more moments, it was obvious he wasn't doing any damage. I let loose with another scream and Sam looked up, but now I had been turned around in mid air, facing James. He was standing there smiling at me, and once again I began to float toward him. I struggled as much as I could, but it didn't do me any good at all. I started shouting Sam's name again and I tried to turn my head around so I could see him, but I couldn't even move my head. I glared at James and he stared back at me, his smile still in place.

"Though I do find all of this quite touching, we have more important things to do," he told me as he stepped into the center of the little space he had made for us. I was still being moved toward him against my will, and seconds later I was standing right in front of him. Still smiling, James snapped his fingers again and I was placed gently on the ground before him.

Immediately I tried to run, but I couldn't move a muscle. I fought for another few moments, and then exhaustion hit me. I stopped fighting and tried to relax as best as I could. I wasn't doing myself any good right now. All I was doing was using up my energy, and the fight wasn't even over yet. _Relax_. I told myself. _Breathe_. _Don't fight unless you know it will count for something_.

Telling myself this over and over again, I looked up at James. As soon as my eyes met his the smile suddenly left his face, and without a word he lifted the ring up between us. It was resting in the palm of his hand, and for a moment it stayed that way. Then slowly he lowered his hand, and the ring stayed in mid air, as though it was dangling on an invisible string. I watched in amazement as it turned itself around until the stone was pointing up toward the top of the dome, and then it started to glow softly.

"Let us begin," James said quietly, and he lifted his face toward the dome and stared at the sky beyond it. Meanwhile the battle between hunter and vampire raged on all around us, and all I could do was stand there and watch, completely helpless.

* * *

><p>Dean watched as his younger brother chopped off yet another vamp head, and then he swore when Sam turned and started toward that freaky, glowing dome thing again. Sam was nothing if not stubborn.<p>

"Sam!" Dean roared at his brother's back. He was striding purposefully toward the dome and he didn't pause when Dean yelled at him. Swearing a blue streak, Dean tore after him. "Sam, wait!" he snarled as he caught up with his too-tall brother. "You can't do anything! You know that!" Dean snapped as he moved to stand in front of Sam. He shoved at his chest, trying to get him to back down and focus on the fight that was all around them, and Sam did stop, but only to give his brother a terrible glare. "You can't get in there," Dean told him, his tone quiet now. "You know that!

A cold look entered Sam's eyes, and Dean actually took a step away from him. "If it was Eden trapped in there, would you give up just as easily?" Sam demanded, his tone hard as stone and as cold as the bottom of an ice berg.

"Damnit Sam, you know I wouldn't!" Dean told him. "And you gotta know that I don't want to give up on Rivan! But what're we supposed to do?"

Sam opened his mouth as he glanced at the dome. He could see Rivan in there, and she was standing in front of James. It seemed that she couldn't move. Her back was to Sam, and as he watched her he suddenly noticed something. "Dean, look!" Sam shouted, grabbing Dean's arm and jerking him around to look at the dome. Dean winced at the tight hold Sam had on him, but the crushing pain was forgotten as his eyes took in what Sam was seeing. The back of Rivan's shirt was pulled up slightly, but just enough to show that she had something hidden, tucked away in the waist band of her jeans. Dean narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better look.

"Is that what I think it is?" he asked as he took a step closer to the dome.

"Yep," Sam replied, and though his voice was hard it now had some hope in it. "She somehow got a hold of a few of those syringes full of dead man's blood."

Dean snorted. "Well damn," he muttered. "How'd she get those? Hell, there's no tellin' with her. The girl is unbelievable," he added as he turned to look at Sam. "But I'm tellin' you Sam, when this is all over, you damn well better bust her ass big time for this!"

"No problem there," Sam said darkly. "Okay, so she's got dead man's blood, but she can't move because James has some kind of spell on her. We're gonna have to find some way to distract him, make him drop his guard. If we do that maybe it'll break the spell and Rivan can do what she needs to do."

"Okay," Dean said as he thought fast. "Sounds like a plan. But how are we gonna distract him, exactly? In case you forgot, he's in some kind of magical glowing dome that we can't get through!"

For a moment Sam didn't move, and then he pulled his eyes away from the dome and looked at Dean. "You got any C4 in the trunk?" he asked, his eyes blazing and his jaw clenched.

Dean grinned at him. "Dude, I always have C4 in the trunk," he scoffed. "But how are we gonna get it on that?" he asked, pointing at the dome. "We don't know if it'll stick on there. Hell, we don't even know if C4 will work on it! And what if it works too well, Sam? Rivan could get hurt!"

"You think I didn't consider all of that?" Sam snapped as he turned and started toward the Impala. Dean followed him, while all around them their fellow hunters continued to fight off James' army. "That dome's too powerful for C4 to take it down. But I think it'll distract James just enough for Rivan to make her move," he added as he jerked his keys out of his pocket and opened the trunk. He instantly saw what he was looking for, and he grabbed a few bundles. Then he straightened and turned to his brother, who was just standing there.

Dean stared at him with wide eyes, and Sam could see the doubt in those eyes. "Do you have a better idea?" Sam demanded.

Dean took a deep breath and shook his head. "Not really," he said as he leaned down and dug a few bundles of C4 out as well.

"Okay then," Sam said. "Let's see what we can do to help Rivan out." After finding a spare bag to put the C4 in, Sam slammed the trunk closed. The brothers turned and then promptly stopped in their tracks. Bobby was standing there staring at them, the knife he held in his hand dripping with vampire blood.

He eyed Sam and Dean before glancing at the bag they were holding. He knew what the Winchesters usually kept in that bag. "You two jokers mind tellin' me just exactly what you plan on doin' with an ass load of C4?" he growled at the brothers.

"No problem," Dean said shortly, and he explained Sam's idea quickly. When he was done Bobby rolled his eyes and swore.

"You have _got_ to be kiddin' me!" he snapped. "What if you bring the whole dome down and kill James _and _Rivan?"

"That won't happen," Sam said impatiently. "Bobby, you gotta trust us on this. Rivan has at least four syringes of dead man's blood tucked into the back of her jeans, but she can't move. We're hoping the C4 explosions will distract James and cause him to drop the spell he has on her so she can stab him with those needles! Bobby we can't argue about it anymore!" Sam yelled when Bobby's mouth flew open. "Now if you want to help us get out of our way and make sure no vampires get the drop on us while we're trying to get this set up!"

For a moment Bobby glared at Sam, but finally he stepped aside and let them by. For a moment he stood there and watched as the two young men he considered to be his sons walked back into the fight. Almost instantly two vampires broke off from an attack on Ellen and Jo and headed straight for Sam and Dean.

Bobby rolled his eyes again as he started forward. "Balls," he snarled before running back into the fight himself, taking off vamp heads left and right.

* * *

><p>"Kneel," James suddenly commanded me. He had been staring at the sky, and now he was looking at me, his eyes dark and wild looking.<p>

I made a face at him. "What?" I snapped. "You gotta be joking. I'm not doing any kneeling for you, you sick freak!"

James smiled faintly. "Yes," he said quietly. "You are." Before I could blink he lifted his hand and touched my temple with the tip of one nasty finger. Pain beyond imagination exploded in my head, and I screamed. I felt myself going down, and there was nothing I could do about it. I hit the ground hard, my knees sinking into the soft ground just a little. I continued to scream and tears rolled down my face, and then finally the pain stopped. Gasping hard, I slumped over, my forehead touching the wet grass beneath me. I started to cough and gag then, and a disgusting wad of mucus invaded my mouth. That made me gag even more, and desperate to get it out, I spat it on the ground near James' feet.

My eyes had been closed the whole time this was happening, and I finally forced them open. I was expecting another stab of pain, but thankfully there was none. I looked down on the ground and saw the mucus I had spit up was actually a wad of blood. My eyes went wide and I looked at James sharply, wondering what the hell he had done to me.

He laughed cruelly, and I wished I could kill him. "Do not worry," he told me softly, and I started to tremble as he kneeled down as well. "There is no permanent damage. I just had to teach you a strong lesson. That's all." I said nothing and soon he was on the ground right in front of me, staring at me with his revolting eyes. The ring floated down between us, and I glanced at it before looking back at James.

"You are as wild as your ancestor," he said as he studied me. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "My Lenora was so unpredictable. I loved that about her," he added. "How I have missed her. But no matter. Soon I will see her again. Soon she will be mine once more. After all, I have the vessel necessary for such a strong spell," he said as he reached up and touched my cheek.

I flinched away from him, and then stared at him. "What are you talking about?" I asked, my eyes wide.

James smiled. "Did you honestly think that this was just about the ring?" he asked as he waved his hand at the dome. "The ring holds a great deal of importance for me, yes, but it is not the only thing I will give life to," he told me as he leaned toward me. "Why do you think it was so important to have you here? It was not just your blood I needed to activate the ring. I also needed your body. Because the spell I will cast on the ring will not just bring back its power. It will also bring _her_ back." He paused and stared at me, and I stared back, my heart beating terribly. "It will bring her back…through you," James continued, pointing at me. "You are, after all, Lenora's heir. It wouldn't work with anyone else."

For a moment my vision went blurry, and then little dots of lights swam before me. My whole body felt weak and I wanted nothing more than to crash to the ground, but James' spell kept me up. I stared at the vampire, trying hard not to be sick. "You mean…" I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment and then opened them again. "Lenora's going to…you're talking about…_possession_?"

James laughed a soft, silky laugh as he studied me with delight. "Of course, my darling love. How else would I get her back? Look at you, so shocked! But do not worry. I was just as shocked. Lenora had many secrets that she kept even from me. But I know them all now. Oh, my Lenora was smart and clever!" James said as he suddenly reached out and grasped my shoulders. He pulled me forward a bit, closer to him. Ugh.

"She had a journal, you see," James continued. "And all this time it's been hidden from me. Until recently. I finally found it, and I learned all that I needed to know. In order for us to be together again, she placed a spell on the ring all those years ago. Should she die and leave me behind, all I would have to do was find her heir. A female from her blood line. With the heir and the ring, I would be able to activate the ring, and Lenora's spirit would take over the heir's body. Then we would be together again, and rule the world as was our right!"

I blinked at James for several moments, and then I let out a moan and shook my head. "You can't," I whispered. "You can't do this!"

"Oh but I can!" James replied happily. "Lenora has made it all possible! I only wish I had known everything sooner. Oh, the secrets she kept! Would you like to know one or two? They affect you profoundly, and the plans I have for you and your dear Sam!"

I moaned again and shook my head, harder this time. "Shut up," I told him, and I had intended to shout it, but it came out in a silly whimper. Of course the vampire heard it anyway. I didn't even see James' hand fly. But did I ever feel it when it connected. He backhanded me across the face, hard, just like he had done months ago when he'd held me and Eden captive. Again the taste of blood filled my mouth, and desperate for him not to get a whiff of it, I swallowed it. Yuck.

Because of the spell James had on me, I stayed on my knees instead of flying to the ground like I should have when he hit me. Off to my right I heard a sudden thud, and trying hard not to cry, I turned my head slowly to look. I saw Sam, and again he was bringing his long knife down on the dome, over and over again. He had a bag hanging on his shoulder, and Dean was next to him, staring at his brother. He grabbed Sam's shoulder to get his attention, and when Sam whirled angrily to meet his gaze, Dean gestured at the bag Sam had. Looking completely pissed off, Sam stepped away from the dome and nodded reluctantly at Dean. They both knelt on the ground and began digging through the bag, and I frowned as I watched them. What were they doing?

"They're magnificent, aren't they?" James suddenly murmured, and I looked back at the vampire. "Especially Sam. Such a fighter. So brave. So loyal. So protective of those that he loves most. And his hunter skills are superb." James nodded eagerly as he watched Sam. "He is an excellent example. Exactly what I am looking for."

I fought back another whimper as I stared at the creature. I could feel my cheek swelling from where James had struck me, and I wondered if I'd get a black eye. "What do you mean, exactly what you're e looking for?" I asked him wearily. I wasn't sure I wanted to know, but since I was pretty sure Sam and Dean were trying to find a way to help me somehow, I figured it might be a good idea to distract James for as long as I could.

James smiled at me as he reached up and stroked my cheek. Not the injured one, thank God. "That, my dear, has everything to do with Lenora's secrets that I was telling you about. I take it you're ready to be a good girl and listen quietly?" I narrowed my eyes at him but nodded. I couldn't wait until I saw this thing's head flying in the air.

"Good," James said, looking very satisfied. "One moment though, my darling," he added. "I really do need to get this show on the road, as they say." Before I could reply he lifted his right hand and held it above the ring. I watched as his eyes slid closed, and then his lips began to move. I didn't understand the words that he spoke, but I knew it was some kind of incantation. This lasted for only a few seconds before the ring under James' hand suddenly began to glow. James moved his hand and the ring shuddered, and directly behind him, outside the dome, a wicked bolt of lightning lit the entire cemetery up. Not one hunter or vampire paused to see what was going on. They continued to fight, and every once in a while smaller streaks of lightning illuminated the frightening scene.

"There now!" James exclaimed as his eyes popped open. "I have started the first step of the grand miracle. Now where was I," he muttered before I could say anything to that. "Ah yes! Now I remember. Lenora's secrets. I was very surprised by this one, I must say." He smiled at me again, and the sight reminded me of bloody maggots.

"I am quite certain that you or the Winchesters did not have any idea that Lenora came from a family of hunters!" James told me with a beaming smile that still reminded me of bloody maggots, but with rotten brains added. Anyway, I inhaled sharply at his words and stared at him, blinking rapidly. "Yes, that was pretty much my reaction as well!" James said as he watched me. "You, my dear, come from a long line of hunters! Just like Sam and Dean! Their blood line is old. They have many generations of hunters. But I dare say your blood line is older!" He paused for a moment and studied me to see how I would react, but all I could do was stare.

"According to Lenora's journal, her blood line only produced the very best hunters. For years the creatures of the night feared any and all hunters that came from the Langston family. Because of the outstanding hunting skills they passed down to their offspring, the family was very particular about who they allowed their children to mate with. Only the strongest hunters from other well known families were given the privilege of carrying or creating a Langston child depending, of course, on whether it was man or a woman who was being married off."

"You see, the Langston blood line was known for producing hunters with very special gifts. They could all do something different and outstanding. Whether it be moving something with their minds, reading the minds of others, or influencing the people around them to do their bidding. There were many other gifts that were passed down from child to child. Lenora's gift was very unique. She had the gift of performing the most extraordinary magic with witchcraft, of all things! She was capable of performing spells that had been declared too difficult to do by some of the most powerful humans in the art of witchcraft!"

Again James paused and looked at me. I stared back, and he tilted his head to the side just a little. "Lenora continued to excel in her gift. She made leaps and bounds that fascinated her family. But only some of them. Other members of her family became frightened of what she could do. She grew stronger and stronger, the strongest of any Langston woman born! Then she began to insist upon being allowed to do the unthinkable. She wanted to hunt. You see, despite the fact that the Langston women were just a powerful as the men, they were not allowed to hunt the dark creatures that roamed the earth. Despite their gifts, they were resigned to the same fate as all women of that age. They were to stay home, tend the children, and run their homes. Lenora was told that she could not hunt. She must marry and produce children, her family told her. They needed more Langston heirs that could carry on the good name and continued to hunt and kill the monsters that terrorized the world!"

"But Lenora was not meek. She knew she was strong enough to get what she wanted, so one day she left her family and went to live on her own and hunt, just like the Langston men. It was a terrible scandal. Very embarrassing for all involved. Her entire family disowned her and some even began to hunt her just like they hunted dark creatures." James paused and smiled. "She evaded them all," he murmured softly. "There was not one that could take her down. Eventually they gave up, and Lenora was free to hunt without worry and practice her witchcraft and perfect her gift. She was an excellent hunter and destroyed everything that she tracked. But, like all hunters, even the best, she came across a creature that got the better of her. It was a vampire, and sadly Lenora does not tell how it got the upper hand."

"But once the battle was won, the vampire did not destroy Lenora. He had heard of her and knew what a great hunter she was, and knew of her blood line. So he decided to turn her instead. Upon becoming a vampire she gained all of our strengths, and she was nearly unstoppable. For several years she traveled with the vampire that had turned her, until eventually she grew bored of him and killed him. She was on her own for a little over one hundred years after that. And then she met me. Almost instantly we became mates, and she taught me everything she knew about witchcraft."

James suddenly stopped then and studied me. "You know a little bit about the next part, don't you?" he asked quietly. "The Winchester's pet Angel told you some of this. And of course I know about that," he added sharply when my mouth flew open. "And in case you're wondering where your Angel is and why he is not helping you or your friends…" James' voice trailed off for a moment, and then he smiled. "Well, let's just say he's otherwise engaged," he finally finished, and his smile turned into a cruel one.

I snapped out of the daze the vampire's story telling had put me in, and I glared at him. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I demanded loudly. To be totally honest I had not thought about Cas at all until this point. I mean, how stupid can you get? Here we all are in the middle of a battle with vampires led by the vampire King, and do I wonder where the powerful Angel named Cas is? Nope! Not me. Duh. I wondered if anyone else had thought about him and wondered where he was. But then, Cas had never promised he would help us with this fight.

Still I felt pretty stupid for not thinking about him. But at the same time I felt that it was okay. I mean, here I was, stuck in a magical dome with the vampire King, who just told me that I'm a descendant from a long line of hunters and that he was going to raise the spirit of his dead lover, my own ancestor, so she could posses my body and help James rule the world. So I think I can be forgiven for not thinking about Cas, right? Maybe?

Seconds later I was distracted from Cas' absence when James continued with his story. "It really does not matter, to be honest," James said in response to my question. "Now on with my story," he added briskly. "Though I am afraid that I'm going to have to hurry it along a bit. Time is slipping by! But as I was saying, I met Lenora, and she taught me everything she knew about witchcraft. Then, as you know, she placed a very difficult spell on a ring that was a family heirloom, and of course it was the spell that would enable us to rule the world. And as you know, the night we attempted to cast the spell, Lenora was killed by vampires that I thought were loyal to me. But what you probably did not know was…her family helped these vampires kill her. Yes," James hissed softly when I gave him a startled look. "It is true."

"Lenora believed that her family had given up on trying to kill her more than one hundred years ago, but in truth they had only withdrawn from the task to attempt to make a better plan to take her down. The generation that was working on it died out before they could complete the task, but they passed it on to the new generation, and so it went over one hundred years." James smirked. "That's how long it took them to think of a way to kill her. Of course they were trying to learn witchcraft so they could take her down by using her own gift against her. No one thought of secretly joining with vampires to kill her through them until one hundred years later. The Langstons of old would never soil their reputation by working with vampires, even if it meant killing a rogue family member that was, in their minds, too powerful to live."

"But as I was saying, her family managed to make an agreement with these vampires that were close to me and Lenora. If they managed to kill her, the Langstons promised to stop hunting them, and if they aslo managed to kill me, the family would make sure all hunters in contact with the Langston clan would stop hunting them as well. Fortunately for Lenora's family, these vampires were rather stupid," James added dryly. "They took the Langstons up on the deal, and on the night Lenora and I were casting the spell on the ring, the traitors attacked. They killed her, as you know, and I in turn killed them. Once they were all dead I attempted to continue the spell, but I found I could not. At that point I did not understand why, and was forced to flee when Lenora's family came to kill me upon learning Lenora was dead. There were too many of them and, once Lenora was gone, I found that I did not feel as strong as I had when she was alive. I am fairly certain I could have killed the Langston men that came for me, but I did not want to test that assumption. So I ran, and in my haste to get away I dropped the ring. Her family found it of course and took it back. Not that I cared. At that point the ring was useless to me. I no longer needed it."

James paused again and looked at me. "You have been rather quiet so far," he finally said to me. "I would have expected more of a reaction to everything I have shared with you."

For a moment I just blinked at him, and then I gave him a bland smile. "I'm ever so sorry that I can't respond with 'oos' and 'ahs' to your tale about my ancestors while you have me trapped in some dome with the intention of letting one of my more evil ancestors posses me while taking my freedom and happiness away forever," I said in a tone as dry as the Sahara Desert.

I fully expected another slap across the face for being a smart ass, but much to my surprise James only laughed at me. "Oh my dear! How you amuse me," he said as he looked at me with actual fondness. Gross. "But you worry far too much! Your freedom and happiness will not be taken away from you completely! You see, my Lenora is a bit kinder than I am. Or she was when she was still alive. If she's still the same as I remember, there will probably be times when she will permit you to have control for a little while when she needs to rest!"

My eyes went wide and I frowned at him. "Permit me to have control?" I repeated.

"Why yes!" James said cheerfully. "You'll still be here, you know," he said as he reached out and tapped me lightly on the head. "Lenora will no doubt let you have the wheel from time to time. Especially when she learns just how much you love your darling Sam. Remember I said I had plans for him? That I was going to keep him alive and well? I was not lying! You see, I intend to start up Lenora's family tradition of making sure the Langston blood line is only paired with another blood line that is just as powerful and as strong as the Langston hunters were in their time."

I felt myself freeze as James' eyes drifted off to the right. I followed his gaze and saw that he was watching Sam, who was still standing near the dome but was now fighting off yet another vampire.

"Just look at him," James said softly to me, never taking his eyes off of Sam. "Isn't he magnificent? Look how well he handles the blade that he holds. Observe how he moves. He is fluid and perfect without even trying. A natural born hunter. Just imagine what the Langston blood line paired with the Winchester blood line would produce…though there has not been an actual Langston hunter in many, many years, the potential is still there. You have it in your blood," he added as he looked at me. Slowly I looked back at him, my eyes wide and my lips trembling. "I could smell it in the blood that Sam carried with him. That little sample of your precious liquid. I could feel the special Langston magic in it. Like all of your ancestors before you, you were born with a gift."

For a moment I said nothing, and then I actually snorted. "A gift?" I echoed. "You gotta be joking. I wasn't born with anything special. I've been on this earth for twenty-five years and I haven't done one thing out of the ordinary! So I'm afraid you're barking up the wrong tree, you sick mutt. I don't have any stupid gift!" I added with a rather vicious finish on those last words.

James smiled slowly at me, and then suddenly his hand shot out and wrapped around my neck. Instantly black spots appeared in my vision and I tried to grab at his hand with both of mine, but I couldn't move them.

"Foolish woman," James said calmly as he watched me. "You do have a gift. It's just been dormant for twenty-five years. Your father had a gift as well. He was the last male of the Langston blood line, and all of those before him had the potential as well. But the hunters of the Langston family had ended long ago, and the magic in their blood grew weak as they bred with ordinary, pitiful humans over the years. Humans that had nothing to offer to strengthen the blood of the Langstons. I suppose you could say they almost bred themselves out. But there is just enough magic in you to save your blood line. All you need is a little…boost."

Suddenly James' hand was off my throat, and I gasped loudly, sucking in cold, wonderful air. Before I could really enjoy the feeling of that though, he reached out and placed the tip of his finger right on the center of my forehead. As soon as his skin touched mine, my whole body went ridged. James removed his finger from my forehead, and my back arched, my arms spread out wide as though I was going to hug someone, and my head tilted back to where I was gazing up at the top of the dome.

Then a strange heat filled my entire body, and I started to freak out. It didn't hurt, but it just felt so odd! It started at the point where James had touched my forehead and it went down, spreading out all over. It was like a great pressure, or a great wave of warm water that was crashing through my body, even my very soul. I started to cry because it felt like I wouldn't be able to contain it, and I feared when it spilled out that it would rip me to shreds.

But in the end it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. For a moment the warm feeling turned into a burning one and I felt the pain I had feared would come, but it didn't last long. Then right before it all ended a dark blue light literally shot out of me. At that point things became beyond odd. It was almost as if I had left my own body and was now standing there watching what was happening, the way one would watch a TV show. I watched as the light came out of my eyes, my mouth, and the tips of my fingers. Even as I watched I could feel the light flow through me, and it was so strange I can't even describe how it felt. It was not entirely unpleasant, nor was it wonderful. I continued to watch as more light came right out of me.

If it had been a better moment in my life I would have described the color of the light as beautiful. It was the deepest, smoothest blue I had ever seen, and the edges of it were a light purple. It was the strangest thing that I had ever seen or had happened to me, and I have to say it was also the scariest. Then abruptly I was back in my body, and the feeling intensified. I screamed and I cried and I begged for Sam to come save me. But I was all alone, unless you count James the vampire, who was watching and laughing. Bastard.

Finally after what felt like hours it was over, and totally spent, I slumped on the grass, breathing hard and still crying. "What…the…hell…did…you…just…do…to me?" I gasped out at James, who had stopped laughing and was now watching me closely.

"I did what I told you I would do," he replied calmly. "I gave you a boost. I enhanced and awoke what was already inside you. Soon your gift will be obvious. And I must say I cannot wait to see what it is!" he added with the joy of a twisted, evil child. Still smiling, James snapped his fingers and suddenly I was on my knees again and sitting up straight, looking at him.

He sighed softly as he watched me. "And now you and Sam are perfect for each other. The strongest hunter blood line to live since the Langstons…paired with an actual living Langston heir! Imagine the children you two will produce," he told me as he turned to gaze at Sam again. "The strength in them will be unbeatable. Their hunter's instincts will be divine! And imagine, if you will, exactly what kind of warriors I would have if I were to turn those children and make them a part of my army." James finished this in a whisper that bordered on reverent. His eyes glowed with a disgusting greed, and I saw several different deep shades of angry, fiery red.

This sick freak, this _thing_ that couldn't even be categorized as a monster, was talking about "breeding" me and Sam to preserve a hunter blood line as though we were thorough bred horses. And he was planning on doing it while Lenora was in _my_ body! And to top it all off, he was going to take _my_ children and turn them into monstrous weapons. Or at least that's what he was planning on doing. There was no way in this world, or any other world for that matter, that anything like that was going to happen.

I looked up at the vampire with a calm, cold gaze, and I watched as James' nasty smile slowly slipped off his face. "There is no way any child of mine will ever be a part of your army," I told him, speaking calmly but clearly. "Any child Sam and I may have will be born out of goodness and love. Not out of anything evil or disgusting. If a Winchester child is ever born, you can bet that you will not be around to ever bother that child. I can guarantee that."

For a few intense moments James stayed completely silent as he gazed at me. At that moment he must have seen something in me that told him I truly meant business. But after a moment he smiled at me again, though it was not like his other smiles of the evening. "Stupid woman," he snarled quietly. "You still think that you have some sort of control in all of this. I think it is time to stop playing games and start showing you just how little control you have."

Without another word James lifted both hands and placed one on each side of the ring, kind of cupping it in between his hands without actually touching it. I watched as his eyes rolled back into his head, and I cringed as he began to chant. Between his cupped hands the ring started to shake, and the eerie glow it already had grew brighter and changed from blue to a sickly looking green. Fear hit me and gnawed at me in a way I had never experienced. At first James had kept me so busy with his story telling and his stupid plans that I had been able to keep most of my fear at bay. Now that James was no longer paying attention to me I could no longer hold back the terror. I struggled as James chanted, but still I could not break free.

I wanted to scream in frustration but I saw little point in that. I almost did it anyway when the ring suddenly went from a sickly green to a dark red, the exact color of blood. My eyes nearly popped out of my head and I squeezed them shut as I turned my head away. I could at least move a moment I opened my eyes, and found that I was staring at the dome wall on my right. Beyond that I could still see Sam and Dean, and now they were both viciously fighting off vampires. The bag that they had with them had been left on the ground in front of the dome, and I prayed nothing would happen to whatever was inside the thing.

I stared at the bag for a moment, and then I looked back up. At that exact second Sam relieved another vamp of his head and then he turned and looked into the dome. He saw me watching, and our eyes met. I smiled at him and he smiled back, but I could see the fear and the agony in his expression.

_I love you_. I mouthed the words at him slowly, and he nodded and mouthed them back to me. I smiled again, and then suddenly a strange sensation hit me. It felt like something was trying to get inside me, and I felt my panic spike. James was nearly done with the spell. Lenora was already trying to get it. I looked at Sam again, and I mouthed one word at him.

_Hurry_.

* * *

><p>It felt like someone had punched through Sam's chest and squeezed his heart, hard. He watched as Rivan knelt before James, staring at Sam desperately. He could see a frantic level of panic seep into her eyes, and then she mouthed something at him, like she had minutes ago when she'd told him she loved him. But this was just one word, and it was devastating.<p>

_Hurry_.

Sam looked over at James, his eyes sharp as he studied the vampire. The ring that was floating between him and Rivan had gone through several color changes, and now it was a deep, frightening red. The exact color of blood. Sam felt his stomach turn over. James was nearing the end of the spell, and Sam had a gut feeling that the results were going to be worse than what anyone had ever realized. If he didn't act soon, he was going to lose Rivan forever.

Sam narrowed his eyes at James. Oh, hell no. Sam had been waiting a long time for someone like Rivan. There was no way some freakish vampire King was going to take her away from him. Not now, not ever.

"SAM!" Dean suddenly bellowed from somewhere behind him, and Sam instantly whirled around, his knife ready. Without blinking he sliced it through the neck of the vamp that had been bearing down on him, and he pulled back as the blood gushed and then spouted. Sam was walking away from the creature as its dead body fell to the ground, and before it had even hit the grass, Sam ganked yet another vamp. It quickly joined its' dead buddy on the ground.

"Damnit Sam!" Dean snarled at him, and he was facing his younger brother, his eyes glowing with rage. "Pay attention to what you're doing!" he roared. Sam's eyes went wide as a vamp suddenly appeared behind Dean, and he yelled his brother's name. Dean turned as quickly as Sam had and took the monster down.

With a grim smile on his face Sam moved closer to Dean. "Guess I'm not the only one that ought to pay attention to what I'm doing," he said dryly.

Dean looked up at him sharply and then snorted. "Bitch," he snapped.

Sam smirked. "Jerk," he said back.

"Hell," A rough voice suddenly growled at the brothers. Sam and Dean turned to see Bobby standing there glaring at them. "I'd knock you both out myself, but we still need ya! What're you doin' standin' there callin' each other names for?"

"It's what we do best," Dean told Bobby. Before the old hunter could respond to that Dean spoke again. "And anyway I thought you were supposed to be watching our backs!" he yelled at Bobby over the roar of the battle.

"I'm tryin' to!" Bobby yelled back. "But it would be great if you two would be a little more careful!"

Dean snorted. "Hey, you know us. Careful is our middle name!" he said with a goofy grin.

"LOOK OUT!" Sam suddenly snarled. Two more vampires were charging toward Dean and Bobby, and the two hunters turned to meet them.

"What the hell are they, rabbits?" Dean growled as he braced himself. "It seems like they're multiplying! Sam!" he added. "We've got this. See if you can try to get that C4 to stick to that dome. We'll cover you while you do."

Sam said nothing as he turned and ran back to the dome. All around him he could hear snarling and growling, and on occasion ripping and tearing. He hoped it was his people that were doing all of the ripping and tearing. With his heart slamming in his chest, Sam reached the bag and ripped it open. He pulled one bundle out and gave it a quick glance. It was ready to go. At one point Sam had fought off several vampires while Dean had gotten the C4 ready. As soon as he had, he had hid the explosions in the bag before coming to help Sam, and that had been the delay in getting the C4 secured on the dome. But now there could be no more delays.

Feeling more desperate than he had ever felt before, Sam stood and faced the dome. He risked another glance inside it, and the sight that greeted him made his head spin. James had a hold of one of Rivan's wrists, and he had her arm stretched out. Still looking like he was in the middle of a chant, Sam watched as the vampire pulled a knife from out of nowhere. Slowly he brought it to Rivan's arm and prepared to cut her skin open. Sam looked wildly at Rivan. She seemed to be in a daze and not even aware of what was about to happen. Seconds later the tip of James' knife touched Rivan's arm, and Sam completely lost it.

He let out a terrible bellow that startled a few of the hunters closest to him, and even some of the vampires. But Sam paid them no attention. Fury swelled in him and spilled over. Looking fierce and vicious, he ran at the dome, the bundle of C4 in one hand. He had been planning on just trying to attach it to the side of the dome, but in an instant he knew he didn't have to. Without blinking he tossed the C4 at the dome.

It almost seemed like the dome itself literally pulled the bundle toward it and attached it to the wall of the blue shield. For a moment Sam stood there and stared at it, and when it remained secure he grabbed the bag full of the rest of the explosions and moved a few feet down from the first attached bundle. He spent the next few minutes moving around the dome, tossing C4 at it and watching it stick to the shield. Soon the dome had five bundles of C4 stuck to it, and Sam stumbled backwards. Though he and Dean figured the dome itself may set the C4 off, Sam hurried to the trigger Dean had put together while Sam had sliced off vamp heads. If the dome didn't activate the touchy C4, Sam would do it himself.

But he didn't have to worry. As he stood there watching tiny flares of light began to go off around the edges of the C4 bundles. Sam's eyes went wide as a thin line of red light shot up from the top of one bundle, and it traveled up the wall of the shield and to the very top, looking like a crack that had formed down the center of the dome. Seconds later an explosion went off on the other side of the dome. It rocked the ground around the cemetery, but Sam couldn't tell if it had done anything to the actual dome. Before Sam could get a better look, another explosion rent the air, and this time something did happen to the dome. But it was not good.

All of sudden Sam couldn't see into the dome anymore. The thing seemed to turn into solid blue sheets that appeared to drape themselves all around the dome, completely blocking everything that was going on inside.

"_**NO**_!" Sam roared as he charged toward the dome. "_**DEAN HE**_'_**S BLOCKING US**_!" Sam snarled at his brother. "_**I CAN**_'_**T SEE INTO THE DOME**_!"

Dean, who was still fighting off vamps, yelled back at Sam. "Did you put all the C4 we had in the bag on it?" he asked as he swung his knife and caught a vamp's arm instead of the creature's head. The arm fell with a nasty thud onto the grass, and the vampire howled in pain and rage before charging at Dean again. When Dean swung the knife this time the vamp lost its head.

"Yeah!" Sam snapped back in response to Dean's question.

"How many have gone off?" Dean roared back.

"Two!" Sam told him. "I'm gonna hit the trigger and set the others off!" he added, and without hesitating he brought his thumb down on the button. Three explosions went off within seconds of each other, and a strange mist formed around the dome. Sam stood there and stared at it, waiting for it to clear and see what damage had been done, if any at all. Finally the strange mist cleared, and again Sam roared in frustration. He still could not see into the dome. He could see nothing, and he had no idea what was going on inside, what kind of pain Rivan might be going through.

It was the worst torture Sam had ever had to endure.

* * *

><p>"What have you done?" I shrieked at James as I looked around the dome. Seconds ago two strange explosions had occurred on the outside of the dome, and now suddenly the walls had turned a solid blue that I could not see through. My worst wave of panic rippled through me, and I glared up at the vampire.<p>

"The Winchesters are trying to distract me," James told me calmly. "It very nearly worked, too. I even dropped my knife!" he added as he looked around for a moment. "I figured it would be best if they could no longer see what we are doing in here," he added as he stopped his search and smiled a sick smile at me. "So my darling, are you ready to surrender your body to Lenora? She is near, you know. She is waiting. Are you ready to let her take control as is her right?"

My eyes slid closed upon hearing that and several thoughts and feelings rushed through me. But it all came down to one simple fact. _Okay, I_'_ve had enough of this_. I thought. And my eyes snapped open, and I gave that vampire the most vicious glare I could muster.

"No," I told him loudly and clearly. "I am not ready to surrender anything to anyone! I am not ready to let some dead woman take over my body! Because you know what? It is _**NOT**_ her right! This is _**MY**_ body, this is _**MY**_ life, Sam is _**MY**_ man, and any children we may have will be OURS AND NO ONE ELSES TO USE AS TOOLS OR WEAPONS! _**SO YOU BETTER JUST GIVE IT UP AND LET ME GO**_!" I ended my rant in a horrible scream.

Once again I expected yet another good slap across the face for running my mouth too much, but again I got a surprise when I didn't get that slap. I didn't even get a nasty glare or a snarly threat. But what I did get was totally unexpected. All of a sudden, quite out of the blue, James let me go. I felt the spell he had on me slip away, like a suffocating web that had been caught by a strong breeze and pulled off to be torn to shreds. I had felt trapped and heavy before, but now I was light and free. And I had no idea how it had happened. I looked back up at James, and I could see he was just as shocked as I was. He had not meant to let me go.

"It can't be," he said as he stared at me wide eyed. "Surely not…surely this cannot be the power I have awakened in you!"

I blinked. The power he had awaken in me? Oh yeah, the thing still believed I was magical. Geez. But I smiled up at him, for I was enjoying his sudden discomfort and rage over the fact that I was now free. "What power do you think I have?" I asked him casually.

"I mentioned it before," James replied as some of the shock in his eyes wore off. "The power to persuade others to do what you want them to. This power was very rare among the Langstons."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Look, I don't believe I have any power. I never did!"

James stared at me for a moment longer, and then a look of fury twisted his face, and it was so demented looking I thought the vampire had just cracked his walnut. His hand shot out and he began screaming strange words, apparently trying to put another spell on me. Fear raced through me again, and I cringed.

"NO!" I shrieked, and just like that James stopped. His hand was still stretched out toward me but it was shaking like mad, and his lips were moving wordlessly. I swallowed hard. Oh come on. He couldn't have been right about me having powers, could he? No, that couldn't be. I was getting some kind of help on the outside, that's all. Perhaps Cas had come through after all? I knew it couldn't be something I was doing, and panic hit me hard. Whoever was helping me could probably hold on only so long, so I needed to get my butt in gear and cripple this vampire. My hand shot back behind me, searching for the syringes full of dead man's blood, when suddenly James spoke again.

"I will kill your Sam for this," he told me rather calmly. It was more frightening then if he had yelled it. "And I will make you watch," he added with a disgusting smile. "And I will kill him slowly. It will take days, maybe even weeks, for him to die."

His words and promise caused blinding rage to consume me. I opened my mouth, ready to tell him several interesting things, but this time James stopped me. He wrapped one strong hand around my throat, and I could not say a word. He still believed that I had the power to make him do anything, and he was making sure I couldn't talk. Stupid vampire. But his method of keeping me silent was also keeping me from being able to think straight. I couldn't breathe, and again black dots appeared in my vision as my lungs were deprived of oxygen. I grabbed James' wrist with both hands and tried to pull his crushing hand off my throat, but it did me no good. As we knelt there on the ground, James slowly choking the life out of me, he suddenly leaned down and whispered in my ear.

"Your power and your body will be mine for the taking," he told me quietly. "You _will_ lose this fight. You will lose your freedom. You will lose your friends. But most importantly, you will lose Sam. Just as you lost your parents," he added in a hiss. And that was his undoing.

His last few words gave me the strength I didn't think I had. Looking him right in the eyes, I reached back behind me, pulled out one of the syringes, got the cap popped off, and swung my hand up. James never saw it coming. I plunged the needle into his neck and pushed down, forcing the poisonous blood into the vampire. Instantly I was free again.

James squealed like a stuck pig. If I hadn't been kneeling on the ground on all fours gasping like mad, I would have laughed. With eyes that seemed to be bugging out of his head, James reached up and pulled the needle out of his neck. He looked down at it and then at me as he dropped the syringe on the ground.

"Dead man's blood," he whispered in horror. Obviously he was just as vulnerable to the stuff as any other vamp. I'd have to remember to tell Sam.

I looked up at James and gave him a wild smile. "You better believe it, you sick bastard," I told him, and I pulled out another syringe, popped the cap, and stuck it right in the middle of James' forehead. "That was for trying to let a dead woman into my body," I told him calmly as James began to shake. I got another syringe ready and stuck that one in his left eye ball without hesitation. I expected him to scream again on that one and try to pull it out too, but apparently the poison of the dead man's blood was keeping him very busy.

"That was for your plans to kill Sam and turn my children into monsters," I told him as I watched the needle hanging out of his eye. For a moment I didn't move, and then I smiled. I looked up into the vampire's remaining dark, soulless eye as I got the fourth and final syringe ready. Holding it in both hands with my thumb ready on the plunger, I lifted the needle high and I stuck that thing into the vampire's heart. I'm talking dead center. Then I shoved down hard on the plunger, and I never thought something so violent could be so satisfying. James choked and gagged as I leaned back and watched. Blood dripped from his mouth as he looked down at the needle in his heart, and then looked back up at me.

I stared right back, and I did not smile. "And that was for killing my parents," I told him quietly. The vampire's eyes rolled back into his head, and then a terrible crack rang out from somewhere behind me. I spun around to see that the wall of the dome had developed a large, splintering crack in it. With huge eyes I watched as the crack spread, and I stood up quickly, trying to ignore the shooting pain in my legs.

Above me the top of the dome started to crack as well, and then the ground shook, causing me to fall to my knees again. Moments later there was a loud noise that literally sounded like it went _poof_! I cringed because I didn't know what was coming, and when I realized nothing real bad had happened I looked up again. The dome was completely gone. I was kneeling on the cold grass of the cemetery and all around me hunters were still fighting vampires. I glanced around frantically for Sam and Dean. I found Dean first. He was actually behind me a little ways, and he was locked in a serious battle with a rather large vampire. He looked like he was doing okay though, and I turned away from him, ignoring the slumping figure of a poisoned James, to look for Sam.

I found him seconds later. He had just chopped off another vamp head, and wiping the back of his hand across his sweaty forehead, he turned in my direction. He froze when he saw me sitting there on the ground, and his eyes went wide with delight for a moment before they swung over to take in James' crippled figure. The needles in the vampire King were obvious, and Sam looked back at me sharply, and I actually grinned at him and gave a little shrug.

He grinned back, and though he looked completely worn out, and was covered in dirt, sweat, and blood, to me he was the most beautiful man that had ever walked this earth. I felt tears fill my eyes and I pushed myself to my feet and began to move toward him as quickly as I could. He started forward as well, and then suddenly he stopped. The grin on his face disappeared in half a second to be replaced by a look of horror.

"_**RIVAN**_!" he roared at the top of his lung, and every ounce of fear, rage, and terror was in his voice. "_**RIVAN**_, _**RUN**_!" he bellowed as he started toward me. "_**RUN, RIVAN! RUN TOWARD ME NOW**_!" he ordered. Instantly I moved to obey. But I had only taken one step before I felt a cold, hard grip seize my ankle. Before I could spin around to see what had me I was pulled down, and I hit the ground hard, my forehead bouncing off the grass. I rolled over onto my back, both of my hands on my forehead. The pain that was slamming through it was terrible, but I forced myself into a sitting position.

I opened my eyes, and upon doing so I was greeted with a terrible sight. James was on his knees and he was moving again. He had that wicked knife in his hand again, and he was staggering toward me. Apparently it seemed dead man's blood didn't work as well as it should on a vampire King. I would have to remember to tell Sam that too. But right now I really needed to get out of the way. I let out an ear piercing scream and began to move backwards, because I knew if I tried to stand and run I'd only fall again. I was dizzy and a little confused, and in a lot of pain. I screamed again as James kept coming, and behind him I could see Sam, still running toward me. But he was too far away. He'd never make it.

I could see that he realized that, and as he was running his eyes searched around for help. His eyes fell on something behind me, and hope lit up his face like a beacon. "_**DEAN**_!" he yelled as he kept moving. "_**DEAN**_!"

What happened next happened very fast. James suddenly reached out and grabbed my ankle and began pulling me toward him, the knife in the air and ready to plunge down on me. I screamed once more and the next thing I knew a strong arm had wrapped itself around my waist from behind. I heard Dean swear, right in my ear actually, and then I was pulled back, hard. As I was being yanked back to safety James scrambled after us, and he moved faster than I thought he should be able to. Dean kept pulling me back, and then suddenly Sam was right behind James.

The vampire reared up, completely unaware that Sam was there. He held the knife high above his head and let out an almighty roar, and a strange bolt of lightning threw the entire cemetery into a bright light. James snarled again, and that was the last thing he ever did. Sam's knife came down and sliced cleanly through James' neck, and the vampire King was no more.

But of course he couldn't die normally. James' head went sailing high into the sky, and it plummeted down to earth moments later and hit the ground, hard. It splattered everywhere, but that wasn't the worse part. The gaping hole where James' head had been was now gushing blood. Actually it was shooting out blood in all different directions. It sprayed on me and Dean, and I got most of it. It soaked the front of my shirt, which was one I had always liked by the way, and then the vampire's body began to shake as though someone had put a live wire on it. The skin began to peel and flake, and body parts began to explode and fly off in all different directions. I would later learn that Dean found an ear in the pocket of his jacket and a fang in his shoe.

This fantastic exit from the world was not just happening to James. All around us the vampires that were left suddenly stopped fighting as they too began to shake, shedding skin and body parts. Odd lights began to shoot out of James', and as soon as that happened the other vampires began to do the same. It was obvious what was about to happen.

"_**EVERYONE DOWN**_!" Sam roared as he ran by James and toward me and Dean. "_**GET DOWN AND COVER YOUR FACES**_!" He reached us seconds later and threw himself over me and Dean, shielding us. Meanwhile Dean had managed to turn me around and was holding me tight, and my face was kind of smashed against his chest. Together the brothers kept me shielded, and when the bodies of the vampires finally blew, the blood and gore fell down like a terrible rain, coating Sam and Dean. I screamed at the sounds it made as it hit living bodies and the ground around us, and I started to shake. The falling gore seemed to last forever, and when it was finally over I felt dizzy. For a moment no one moved, and then the weight of Sam was off of me and I pushed against Dean, trying to get free.

"_**Stay here**_, _**damnit**_!" he snarled at me, and from above me I heard Sam give the same order. I cringed and then froze, listening. I heard the voices of Bobby and Ellen, and then Jo. Unable to stand it any longer, I finally pulled out of Dean's arms just enough to see what was going on.

I rather wished I hadn't. The entire cemetery was covered in blood. Chunks of flesh and body tissue dripped off the tombstones while rivers of blood literally poured out of the trees. It was the most gruesome thing I had ever seen. And really, who would have thought vampires had so much blood in them? Guess it made sense though given that their diet consisted solely of the sticky, red liquid. Blood, blood, and more blood. Yeah, hysteria was defiantly starting to set in.

As I sat there staring at everything Dean suddenly gave me a hard shake, and I looked up at him. "Are you okay?" he demanded. Before I could answer I heard Sam's voice, and it was laced with fear and panic.

"Dean, is she okay?" he snapped as his knees hit the dirt in front of us again. "Is she hurt? Has she said anything? Do you see anything wrong with her? Let me see her! Give her to me!" I felt Sam's hands on my shoulders and carefully I was transferred from Dean's arms to Sam's.

"Dude, calm down," Dean told his brother as he flopped down on his butt. He had been kneeling before, and now he was sitting there, breathing hard. "I think she's okay," he added as he watched us. "How about you?" he asked Sam.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam said as he pulled me to him. I got crushed against another chest, but of course I didn't mind. "Rivan, baby, are you okay?" Sam asked me as he ran both hands down my back. Before I could answer that question he pulled me back and looked down at me. He studied the wounds on my face and then began searching for hidden ones. I stared up at him. I was trembling, I felt exhausted, and I ached everywhere.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked again, and this time his voice was sharp. It startled me and I looked up at him, nodding quickly, and then I collapsed in his arms. That's when I started to bawl. "Okay," he said as he wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. "It's okay, baby. It's over. It's done. Everyone is okay. James is dead, and he'll never bother you again."

I didn't say anything to these soothing words. I just clung to Sam while everyone slowly came over to us. I felt several hands on my back, patting and rubbing, but I wouldn't let go of Sam for anything.

"She's okay," I heard him say several times. "No, I don't think she's terribly hurt," he said in apparent answer to someone else's question. "Rivan, let go for a minute," Sam told me, patting my back. "I want to check you and make sure you're okay." Reluctantly I let him go and let him examine me. I did have some injuries, of course. My face was swollen and bruised from where James had hit me. I had a developing bruise on my forehead where I had fallen face first when James had grabbed me, and I had several cuts and scratches on my arms, neck, and even a few on my face.

Everyone was pretty much in the same shape. The worst wound was a deep gash on Bobby's arm that started at the bend of his elbow and ran down almost to his wrist. But that was the only real bad one, thank God. I don't know what kind of wounds Marshal, Brad and Russell had sustained. They were standing apart from our group, and I couldn't see them real well from where I was sitting. Sam continued to check me long after everyone had hugged each other and checked out wounds and bruises. I was covered in dirt, blood, and sweat, as was Sam, but I didn't care one bit as he held me and checked me over. In between his checking he'd pause and kiss me while murmuring soft words of comfort and love. After a moment, his probing motions stopped and I was just getting the wonderful comfort. I rested my head against his shoulder as a cold breeze rippled over us.

I peered over Sam's shoulder at the sky. Dawn was coming. We had all survived. None of us would be the same though. Me especially. In months to come I would find that meant more than I could ever imagine.

For a few minutes everyone was completely silent. Suddenly I heard someone clear their throat loudly, and I jumped a little and looked up. Russell was standing there staring down at me, and Sam looked up at him, his eyes hard. "She is well?" Russell asked Sam, his deep, harsh voice quiet.

Sam eyed him with a mix of curiosity and caution on his face. "She's as well as she can be," he replied, his tone sharp. "Her injuries aren't as bad as I thought they might be."

"Good," Russell said shortly. He looked directly at me, and those strange eyes drilled into me for a moment before he suddenly turned and walked away. We all watched as he walked across the cemetery, and I frowned when he reached a group of bushes and kept going. There was a rustle as he moved, but it stopped abruptly. A tree stood right next to where Russell had disappeared, and suddenly the loud cry of a raven seemed to echo over the cemetery. I looked up and spotted the bird that had cried out, and it seemed to stare at me before taking flight. It headed in the direction Russell had gone, and then we heard nothing more. Just like that, Russell was gone.

Silence filled the cemetery for a moment, and then Dean inhaled sharply. "Bobby," he said as glanced at the older man. "If you call on that guy the next time we need help with something, I'll shoot him the second I see him, and then I'll shoot you."

Bobby snorted. "You don't have to worry about me," he growled. "I don't want anything more to do with him." Bobby glanced down at me as he spoke, his eyes intense. "You sure you're okay?" he asked me, his tone gruff. I nodded, and he snorted again. "Fine then," he grumbled. With that he turned and stomped off, heading in the direction of the cars. For a moment Ellen and Jo hung around, and then finally Ellen put her arm around her daughter, and together they followed Bobby. Brad and Marshal wandered off quietly, and soon it was just me, Sam, and Dean.

Shivering slightly, I pulled away from Sam and looked up at him. We were quiet as we stared at each other, and then slowly I reached up and touched his face. "Are you okay?" I asked him as I stared up into his eyes.

He nodded and gave me a tired smile. "I'm okay," he assured me. "Are you sure _you_'_re _okay?"

"Yeah," I told him. "I'm sure." I glanced up at Dean, who was standing there staring down at both of us. "Are _you_ okay?" I asked him. He didn't give me a verbal answer. All he did was nod once before glancing at Sam.

"I'm headin' back to the Impala," he told his brother. "I'm gonna get some clean shirts out of the trunk," he added. "I'm not gettin' in my baby with this on," he said as he looked down at his blood covered shirt.

Sam nodded. "Okay. Get those big towels out too. We can throw one across the back seat. I'll sit back there with Rivan. You and Bobby can use the other towels for the front seats." Dean nodded and without another word he turned and left.

For a moment Sam and I were quiet. Drawing in a deep, shuddering breath, I looked up at him again. "I love you," I told him softly. "I love you so much." I swallowed down the lump in my throat and took a deep breath. "Please tell me that you still love me," I begged quietly.

Sam's eyes went wide and he cupped my face between his strong hands. "Rivan, I told you a long time ago that I would always love you, no matter what you do," he said, his voice tender and gentle. "Don't you remember?" he asked me. I nodded, and a few tears slid down my cheeks. "Then you don't have to worry about it," Sam promised me. "Because I wasn't lying. I love you now, just like I always have. Just like I always will."

I gave him a wobbly smile as he wiped the tears from my face, though I think all that did was smear dirt and blood around on my cheeks. I didn't care though. I threw my arms around Sam's neck and snuggled against him. For quite a while, we stayed like that, right there in that blood covered cemetery, with the cold October air blowing all around us as the promise of a better day dawned with the rising sun.

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, so that ends the big battle chapter! I hope I did it well enough and I hope it was worth reading. If you have a moment and would like to, please leave a review and share your thoughts. Thank you SO much for reading! We've got a few more chapters to go before this story is done, because of course Rivan will have some serious consequences to face for her actions. Poor girl, I do feel for her! And I'm also glad that I'm not her! O_O**

**Anyway, it won't take me near as long to get the next chapter up. Or at least I don't plan for it to take that long. As always, I will do my best for you! Thanks again for your support and interest, and for all those that celebrate it, may you have a very Happy Thanksgiving! **


	19. Aftermath

**A/N: Well here you go, the nex chapter! And you didn't have to wait a month for it! Yay! This chapter picks up right where chapter eighteen left off. This chapter is about how Rivan deals with everything that she went through during the battle. It starts out in her point of view of course, and then the rest of the story is in Eden's point of view.**

**Well, I don't have much else to say other than I hope you enjoy the new chapter. Again thank you to all of those that left a review for the last chapter. Your reviews keep me going because they let me know that people haven't lost interest in my story, lol! And as always, please forgive any mistakes you may find. Thanks again, and happy reading! :-)**

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><p>Dean came back minutes later. He had changed into a clean shirt and he had another one in his hand. When he reached Sam, he tossed it on the ground next to his brother. "Here," he said. "Put it on. I don't want you gettin' blood on my baby. Damn, I should've grabbed one for her," he added as he looked down at me.<p>

"It's fine, Dean," Sam said. "I don't think she's gonna do a whole lot of sitting up on the way back to Bobby's house. She's gonna want to lie down. Did you get the towels out and on the seats?" he asked next.

"Yep," Dean told him. "Come on, get your shirt changed and let's go. I'm tired of being here, and everyone else is ready to go."

Sam sighed deeply. "Okay," he said as he gave me a gentle squeeze. I took that to mean that I had to let go of him, and very reluctantly I did. But I stayed very close as he changed, and when he finally had the shirt on and buttoned, I quickly grabbed his hand. He smiled softly at me and we were just about to get up when something interesting happened.

As I held tightly to Sam, a beautiful white glow suddenly appeared above us and bathed the cemetery with its soft light. It lasted a few seconds and then was gone. Once it had vanished, it left behind a clean, orderly cemetery. There was absolutely no sign that a battle had just taken place here. Surprised, I looked up at Sam with questioning eyes.

"Cas," he said simply as he gazed down at me with eyes full of love, as well as concern.

"Cas?" Dean repeated, and did he ever sound pissed. "You've got to be jokin'! CAS!" he roared at the Heavens. "You're a little late, buddy! What's up with that, huh? The battle's over and now you come along and clean the cemetery up? You could have at least cleaned us up too, you stuck up, feather brained di—"

"Dean!" Sam said sharply as he tossed his brother a dark look of disapproval.

"What?" Dean snapped. "Weren't you wondering where he was while we were down here fighting for our lives, Sammy?"

"Of course," Sam said calmly. "But right now we don't have any answers and obviously we're not going to get any soon. So there's no point in having a fit over it. Now let's get back to Bobby's house," he added as he took my hand and slowly stood up. I got to my feet as well, and found I was more wobbly and shaky than I thought I'd be. I took a careful step forward with Sam right beside me, supporting me. Suddenly Dean was on the other side of me, and he took my arm and helped guide me.

"Hey," he said sharply as we slowly made our way out of the cemetery. "Did Eden have anything to do with this?"

"Anything to do with what, Dean?" I asked, and I found at that moment talking and walking was not a good thing to do at the same time. I stumbled once and both Sam and Dean caught me quickly and kept me steady.

"With this crap you pulled coming down here!" Dean continued. "Did she help you do it? Did she help you sneak out?"

I sighed deeply. Suddenly I felt so tired I thought I was going to be sick. "No, Dean," I told him. "She had no idea I was going to do this. I didn't tell her anything about what I was planning to do."

Dean snorted. "Now how in the hell am I supposed to believe that when I know you two back each other up all the time? You couldn't have done it alone, you never could have—"

"_Dean_!" Sam suddenly interrupted sharply. "That's enough! This isn't the time or the place for this discussion! Rivan isn't up to this right now!"

He was quite right, actually. With every step I took the world around me seemed to get darker. And I seemed to get weaker. "Sam," I moaned out in a small voice.

"What baby, what's wrong?" he asked quickly as he and Dean paused.

"Gonna…pass…out…" That's all I was able to get out. I don't remember anything after that, because sure enough, everything went completely black. When my vision returned I was lying across Sam's lap in the back seat of the Impala. Dean was driving, but I noticed Bobby was missing. After making a mental note to ask where he was, my senses came back to me and I realized Sam was sitting on a large towel that had been spread out across the seat.

"Hey," Sam said when he saw that I was awake. "How're you feeling?"

"Weird," I muttered as I blinked up at him. "What happened?"

"You passed out," Sam told me as he reached down and brushed a few strands of hair off my forehead.

I felt my eyes go wide. "Oh. I don't remember. Did I hit the ground?"

"Nope. Caught you before you could."

"Oh," I said again. "Well that's good. Why are we sitting on a towel?" I asked next.

"Because you're both covered in blood and I wasn't about to let you sit on the seats with nothing to protect my baby," Dean spoke up from the driver's seat. "We talked about that just a few minutes ago. Don't you remember?"

Hmm. No, not really. "Covered in blood…" I muttered, confused. Then of course it all came back to me in an awful rush and I closed my eyes. "You're covered in blood too," I said to Dean, just to have something to say, and in an attempt to block out the horrifying pictures that were flashing by in my mind.

"Yep. I got a towel on my seat too."

"Oh," I murmured, and then remembered my mental note. "Where's Bobby?"

"He's driving his car back," Sam told me. "We weren't even thinking about how you got yourself here. Which was stupid of us, but it shows how worn out we are. We were pretty surprised when we got to the cars and saw Bobby sitting in his."

Dean snorted. "Yeah, looking pissed off as hell. At least now we know where his keys went. But I gotta tell you, Rivan," he added. "Next time don't leave the keys to the car _in_ the car. That causes a lot of problems. One of those damn vampires could have taken off with Bobby's car. Or worse, that idiot Russell. Or one of those other idiots." I didn't say anything to that. I just lied there and stared at the roof of the Impala. "How's she lookin', Sam?" Dean suddenly asked, and Sam studied me.

"Pale," he reported. "And tired. And hurt."

I shook my head at him. "I'm fine," I said as I started to push myself up. Immediately Sam pushed me back down.

His hands were gentle but his tone was firm. "No," he said when I looked up at him in surprise. "You just stay put. We'll be at Bobby's house in just a few minutes."

Any other time I might have argued with Sam about that, but at that moment I didn't have the strength. So I nodded weakly and closed my eyes as we drove on. The rest of the ride home was intense and silent. I was beginning to feel stranger by the second. Panic and shock were setting in fast and hard. They slammed into me with such force I began to tremble. At one point the panic got pretty bad, and I turned over on my side, facing Sam, and wrapped my arms around him. I clung to him the entire drive home as he held me and whispered soothing words to me.

But despite how odd I was feeling and how scared I was, I didn't cry. I was as quiet as everyone else. Even Dean was quiet. I mean, he wasn't even cussing. That right there was a big shocker because I knew how pissed he was. Not just because of what I did, but also because I'm sure he still believed that Eden had been a part of my plans and had helped me sneak out. As we drove down the road I tried to tell him again that she'd known nothing about it. Dean didn't respond to what I was saying and after a minute Sam shushed me, insisting that I rest and not worry about it. Dean's silent response to my words made it pretty clear that he didn't believe me. In the end I figured that was okay, because I knew Missouri would back me up on my claim of Eden's innocence.

It seemed like we spent hours in the car before we finally pulled in front of Bobby's house. Later I would learn that Brad and Marshal had not followed us. Now that the fight was over they were more than content to go their separate ways. The only ones that had followed us back were Ellen, Jo, and of course Bobby.

Once we pulled into Bobby's yard and the car came to a stop, my mind went fuzzy, and my memory faded in and out. I honestly don't remember getting out of the car. I don't remember going into the house. I don't even remember what Missouri or Eden said when we walked in. There were only a few things I was clearly aware of. I was aware of my hand wrapped in Sam's own big, strong hand, and I was aware of his protective presence and his guidance. That was it. I heard no voices and no cries, and I felt nothing but Sam's grip on my hand. Later Eden would tell me that she had hugged me several times during this point. I just hadn't been aware of it.

In that moment in time there was nothing more important to me than Sam and his hold on me. I knew nothing else. The only time I came fully back into the world was when I realized Sam was no longer beside me, holding my hand and keeping me safe. Someone else had my hand now, and it was Missouri. I blinked in confusion and looked around. Missouri was leading me toward the stairs, and Eden was right beside me, following. Ellen and Jo were behind us, but Sam was nowhere to be seen. A shard of pure panic tore through my very soul, and I jerked to a stop, pulling my hand out of Missouri's. She stopped and turned to me, her eyes wide and full of worry.

"What's wrong, darlin'?" she asked me gently.

Despite her gentle voice, I flinched. "Where's Sam?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

She frowned and then peered closely at me. "He's upstairs getting cleaned up," she told me, her tone still gentle but now cautious as well. "Remember?"

I stared at her and then looked at Eden, who was watching me with a look of fear and agonized worry on her face. I stepped away from both her and Missouri and nearly ran into Ellen. I flinched again and wrapped my arms around myself and backed away from them all as the walls suddenly seemed to close in on me. "I want Sam," I said in a tiny voice.

"Darlin' he's busy getting cleaned up," Missouri patiently reminded me. "Remember we told him that we would help you get cleaned up? Don't you want to do that? Eden and I are going to help you. Come on now. You'll feel much better afterwards."

"Yeah Rivvie," Eden said, her voice soft and quiet. It was the kind of voice one uses around a very sick person. "You have to be uncomfortable. You're all dirty and covered in…well," she said, waving a hand at my shirt.

I blinked and then looked down at myself. The top part of my shirt was soaked with blood, all the way down to my waist. As soon as my eyes took in the glistening red liquid an image flashed before my eyes. I could see James just as clearly as I had seen him only a little while ago. I watched again as the blade of Sam's knife sliced through his neck, and again I saw the vampire's head fly through the air before falling to the ground. Blood gushed out of the gaping wound, spouting out like a grotesque fountain. Even when it had been happening I wasn't aware of how much had gotten on me. But it made sense. I had been kneeling right in front of the creature as he had died.

"Rivvie?" Eden suddenly said, her voice trembling and scared. I looked at her. "Are you okay?"

I swallowed hard. "I want Sam," I repeated, and this time I spoke much louder. With my arms still wrapped around myself I backed further away from the group of women. As I did I realized tears were pouring down my face.

"Rivan," Ellen suddenly spoke, her voice gentle but firm. The voice of a mother who knows best. "Come on now. Let's get you upstairs so Eden and Missouri can help you get cleaned up. You'll feel so much better, honey. Come on," she told me, holding a hand out to me. "Come with us, love."

I stood there and stared at her, and then at Missouri, and Eden, and then Jo. Then completely out of the blue I started to sob. Loud and hard. "I…want…Sam!" I gasped out between my heaving sobs. "NO!" I added in a scream when Ellen took a step toward me. "Please no, I want Sam! I want Sam!" I howled, completely beside myself. I couldn't help it. And I felt terrible about it. There they all were, staring at me in horror and fear, and now poor Eden was crying too. They were all worried about me and cared and wanted to ease my pain. But there was nothing they could do for me right now. There was only one person that could help. Only one person that could make it all okay.

"Sam," I moaned pathetically. "Please…Sam…"

"Okay," Eden suddenly said, and her voice was strong this time. "Okay, Rivvie. Don't cry. Please don't cry. I'll get Sam. Okay? Just stay here and please don't cry anymore!" she begged. I sniffled and nodded, still backing away slightly from them all.

"Eden," Jo said, and I looked at her but barely saw her. "Don't you think we should…" I wasn't sure what she said next, but whatever it was Eden didn't like it.

"No!" she said firmly. "Don't force her. It'll only make things worse. I think we should let Sam handle it."

"Hey, what's goin' on down here?" A new voice had joined the conversation, and I saw that Dean was standing there, and then Eden was in his arms, holding tight to him. He was all cleaned up now, and he looked much better, despite all the cuts and scrapes he was sporting.

"She won't let us take her upstairs," I heard Eden say. "She keeps saying she wants Sam. Dean, she won't let us touch her," she added, and let out a little sob.

"Shhh," Dean murmured softly to her, and I watched as he dropped a kiss on top of her head. "It's okay, sweetheart. She's been through a lot and she's just scared. Let me see if I can talk to her, okay?" Eden muttered something but I didn't catch it. I watched carefully as she pulled out of Dean's arms, and then I started to back away as he turned to me.

"Hey," he said gently, lifting a hand and holding it out to me in a soothing way. "You're okay. Why don't you let Eden and Missouri help you get cleaned up now? Come on. I know you want that mess off of you," he added as he glanced at my shirt.

He took another step toward me, and I let out a little shriek and stumbled back several feet. "No," I told him, shaking my head wildly. And then all I could do was moan Sam's name over and over as I sobbed.

Dean stood there for a moment and stared at me, and then he glanced at Eden and the others. "Never mind," he said with a tired sigh. "Let's not force her. I'll go see if Sam's done yet. If he's the only one she'll listen to, then so be it. Ellen, Jo, if you two want to get cleaned up you can use the bathroom in me and Sam's room."

I missed Ellen and Jo's response to that, but I didn't miss it when Dean leaned down and gave Eden the gentlest kiss before heading for the stairs. I stood there and watched as he went up them and continued to watch even when I couldn't see him anymore. I tore my eyes away from the stairs though when I heard someone move, and I relaxed a little when I saw it was only Eden.

"It's okay Rivvie," she told me. "Dean's going to get Sam. It's okay. You're safe."

I stared at her and then looked at the ground. Only when Sam was here would I feel safe. I would only be okay when I was in his arms again. So I stood there in the middle of the room, covered in vampire blood, and waited for the man that I knew could and would heal all of my wounds. Both visible and invisible.

* * *

><p>"Sam?" Dean called out as he reached the closed door. He rapped on it once with his knuckles and then threw the door open to find his younger brother standing in the middle of Bobby's room, working on the last few buttons of his shirt. He was clean and looked somewhat refreshed, but when he turned and saw the look on Dean's face a dark shadow of worry crossed over his features.<p>

"What's wrong?" he asked as he started rolling up his sleeves.

Dean moved further into the room and pushed the door into a half closed position. "We've got a problem downstairs," he told Sam quietly. "It's Rivan."

Sam's eyes went wide. "Rivan?" he nearly shouted before Dean could continue. "What's going on?"

"She won't let anyone touch her," Dean said, his tone grim. "They never even got her upstairs. She's still down there covered in blood. We all tried to talk her into coming upstairs and getting cleaned up, but nothing we said worked. She's cryin' and says she wants you. Sam, she won't even let Eden touch her," Dean added.

Sam inhaled sharply and closed his eyes for a moment. "Damn," he muttered as he opened his eyes again. "I knew I shouldn't have left her, but Missouri said she'd help her, and Eden said the same, and Rivan seemed okay with it all," he rambled as he rushed to finish rolling up his other sleeve.

"She probably didn't even understand a word anyone was sayin' to her at that point," Dean remarked.

"Yeah, probably not. I thought she looked pretty out of it," Sam said as he finally got his sleeved rolled up. "Okay, I'm coming," he added as he hurried forward.

Dean gave him an encouraging grin. "Come on then, hero. Time to save the day again," he told his brother. Sam shot him a tight grin and then left the room.

With a sigh Dean followed him, wondering if there would ever come a time when his brother didn't always have to be the hero. Then he promptly cussed himself out for that thought. Sam was a good hero, the best there was. And Dean knew all too well that there were worse things to be in this world. Sammy was made to be a hero, and that's just all there was to it. And that girl waiting downstairs, the one that was so madly in love with Sam, needed a hero in the worst possible way.

* * *

><p>I refused to meet anyone's eyes as I stood there and waited. At one point Bobby had come along and the situation had been explained to him. Just like everyone else he had tried to get me to see reason and go upstairs and get cleaned up. Almost against my own will I had started sobbing again. There was a part of me that was ashamed of the way I was acting, but there was also a part of me that just didn't care. I knew what I needed better than anyone else. I just seemed to be having a hard time convincing the others of that. Or, more correctly, I was just going about it in the wrong way. But, truly, I had no control over that. I needed Sam like I needed to breathe. Plain and simple.<p>

Missouri said something then but I couldn't understand her, and I didn't look up at her. She was worried about me. They all were. But I didn't deserve their worry…their caring...I certainly didn't deserve their friendship. Things were rushing at me all at the same time, cruelly and harshly. Realization had finally dawned, and I was beginning to think about exactly what I had done. I had lied to everyone in a terrible way and had put a lot of people in danger tonight. Everyone could have died because of me. That thought kicked my suffering into full gear again, and not wanting anyone to see that and feel any worse for me, I turned away quickly under the pretense of studying something on the table near me. It was a poor attempt at disguising my agony but I didn't know what else to do.

Then suddenly I heard the voice of the one person who could protect me from anything, and make all wrongs right again. "Rivan?" I heard Sam say, and I turned quickly to see him coming down the stairs. Dean followed him but stopped when he reached Eden, who rushed into his arms again. "Rivan, what's wrong, baby?" Sam asked as he approached me. He stopped in front of me and I looked up at him. "Why didn't you let Eden and Missouri help you get cleaned up?" he asked me gently as he took my hand in his.

"I wanted you," I whispered to him, and then I burst into tears again. I swear before this night was through I was going to cry myself dry at the rate I was going.

"Okay," Sam said softly. "I'm right here. Hey, shhh," he told me as he cupped my face between his strong hands. "Don't cry, baby girl. I'm here." He gave me a gentle kiss even though I was still covered in blood, though I have to say I didn't have too much on my face, and then he pulled lightly on my hand. "Come on. Let's get you cleaned up now." Blinded by tears as well as the shock that had set in long ago, I let him lead me to the stairs. "No," I suddenly heard him say, and for a moment I panicked, thinking he was talking to me. "I can handle it. I've got it. We're good." Once I realized he was talking to the others I let my mind slip again.

And then my memory failed me once more. I didn't remember going up the stairs and I didn't remember going into the room I shared with Eden. The next time I became aware of my surroundings Sam and I were in the bathroom and he was working to undo the buttons on my bloody shirt. I watched as some of the blood got on his hands and I winced.

"You're clean," I told him as I tried to push his hands away. "I can do it," I added, though I wasn't sure if I really could.

"No," he told me softly as he caught my hands and forced them down to my sides. "Be still and let me do it," he said as he went back to work without waiting for a response. I did as he asked and finally he got the buttons undone. Then very gently he pulled the shirt off my shoulders and slowly peeled it away from my skin. Most of the blood had dried long ago and the material stuck to me in several places. But in some spots the blood was still fresh, and the squishy feeling of it on my skin literally caused me to start shaking. I moaned and lifted a hand up to my chest, and in doing so I put the palm of my hand right over a gooey glob of blood. It made an awful squelching noise when I pressed down on it, and as soon as I heard that sound I lost it again.

I started to sob and then I felt Sam pull my hand away from my chest. He talked so gently and so softly to me as he finished removing my shirt, and then he was behind me and unhooking my bra. It fell off of me and to the floor and I automatically crossed my arms over my naked breasts as Sam came back around to stand in front of me again. Still talking softly he started working on getting my jeans undone. He unbuttoned and unzipped them quickly and then began to tug them down. He knelt down on the ground in front of me, pulling my jeans down further as he did.

"Baby, sit down," he suddenly said, and I gave him a confused look. "Right here," he told me, leaning over me and patting something behind me. I turned and saw I was standing right in front of the toilet, and the lid was down. "Come on," Sam said as he rubbed my leg. "Sit down, baby girl," he murmured as he gazed up at me. I did as he told me, slowly lowering myself until I was seated on the toilet lid.

My jeans were down below my knees now, and I watched in a kind of detached way as Sam got them all the way off and then tossed them in the nearest corner. I saw that my shirt had been tossed over there too, and I frowned. Guess I can kiss that outfit good-bye. Which was really too bad. It was a nice outfit. Or had been. What had I been thinking when I chose to wear it to what I knew was going to be a blood bath? Stupid, really.

I shook my head as these silly thoughts raced through my mind, and then my clothes were forgotten as I stared down at Sam. He was now pulling my socks off, and again I frowned. I couldn't even remember him taking my shoes off. But I knew he had because I noticed that they were by the toilet. I said nothing as my socks joined my jeans and my shirt in the corner, and then it dawned on me that the only thing that kept me from being completely naked was my panties.

Sam had only seen me totally naked once. It was probably six months after we'd started dating, and we had rented a cabin in Montana. We were on a supposed week long vacation, but as I quickly learned, ghosts and other creatures of the night didn't know the meaning of vacation. To make a long story short, a ghost had shown up in the bathroom with me, and I had just opened the shower door when I saw it. I remember I had started screaming "GHOST! GHOST!" at the top of my lungs, and I had been so loud I was sure some of the ghost's friends down the road in the local cemetery had heard me.

Anyway, Sam had heard me of course, and seconds later he had kicked down the bathroom door and charged in. Then without any kind of hesitation he had blown the ghost away with his sawed off shot gun loaded with salt rock. And all the while I had been pressed up against the wall, horrified, watching this in all my naked glory. And that had been the one and only time Sam had seen me completely naked. Unlike most women my age, and older even, I had a tendency to be shy about my body. But, shy or not, as I looked down at myself at that moment in time, I had to thank God for giving me a nice body. Sam's body rocked. I had seen him with jeans on but no shirt, and just from the build of his upper body I knew he had the kind of body that most people could only dream of. I could at least say my body was pretty. Was that conceited? Maybe. Probably. I didn't mean it to be. I was just glad that I was in the 'somewhat sexy' body category with a boyfriend as sexy as Sam.

I almost started to giggle at myself then. Here I had survived a vampire war in the middle of a cemetery, complete with a powerful vampire King, and all I could thank God for was a pretty body. Geez, how shallow can a person get, right? Determined to fix that, I started in on a silent prayer and thanked God for seeing all of us through the battle, especially my Sam. If anything had happened to him…I couldn't even finish that thought, because just starting it caused my tears to make yet another appearance. Though, to be honest, I wasn't sure if I had ever really stopped crying. Guess I was making up for not crying earlier.

"Rivan," Sam suddenly said, and I looked to see that he was now standing in front of me, holding his hand out. Then I realized that he had the shower turned on, and I glanced at it. It was a shower/tub combo deal with a blue, plastic curtain that could be pulled around the entire tub. Sam had it pushed out of the way and I could see the steamy water as it pounded the bottom of the tub in a way that seemed louder than normal.

"Baby, come on," Sam said as he leaned down a little and tugged on my right arm. I still had both arms wrapped around my breasts and I blushed terribly. "Come on," Sam said again, patiently and gently. "Let's get you rinsed off. I know you probably don't feel like standing much, so I'll just rinse you off and then run a bath for you. It'll do you good to soak in the tub for a little while. Come on, baby girl," he urged as he caught my right hand in his.

I kept my left arm over my breasts as he carefully helped me to my feet and then suddenly he let my hand go. I brought it back up to my chest and then to my surprise I felt Sam hook his fingers into the waist band of my panties. I let out a gasp when he suddenly pulled them down. I freaked out a little, and I really don't know why. I guess because it was an automatic thing now. Usually whenever Sam pulled my panties down it was because I was in trouble and going to get spanked. This time I knew better but reacted anyway. "No!" I cried out as I tried to reach down and grab them so I could pull them back up. They were too far down though and I watched as Sam pushed them down to my ankles. He looked up at me with an amused smile on his handsome face.

"You can't get cleaned up with these on, you know," he told me as he stood and brushed the back of his fingers against my cheek. "Here, step out of them, baby," he added, and after making a little face I grasped his arm with my right hand to keep myself steady, and then I stepped out of the panties and kicked them off to the side.

"There you go. Good girl," Sam said softly. "Come on now, let's get you in the shower."

Stupidly I kept my one arm over my chest as he slowly led me over to the shower. It stayed in place while I held onto Sam's arm again as I stepped over the edge of the tub, and then I was under the streaming water. For a moment the glorious warmth of it wrapped around me like a cocoon, and then suddenly it was gone. My eyes flew open, though I hadn't remembered closing them, and the answer to my loss of water was obvious. I had forgotten that the shower head was detachable, and I watched as Sam pulled it off and adjusted the water pressure on it, making it a bit stronger. Once he had it set the way he wanted it, he turned it on me and then very gently began rinsing all of the blood off my body. I stood there and watched as the blood mixed with the water, turning it pink a few times and then a deeper red.

"Turn around," Sam told me, and I looked at him. Our eyes met and held, and I felt a blush spread on my cheeks and intensify as new tears made a trail down my face. "Hey, don't cry," Sam said quickly, leaning over and kissing me. "I just need you to turn around so I can rinse you off. And you're gonna need to put your arm down, baby," he added as he nodded at the arm that was still covering my breast. He smiled gently. "Come on, now. You're completely naked. I'm already seeing a lot. So what harm is it going to do if I see everything?" he asked as he tugged softly on my arm.

I blinked and for a moment didn't move. Then with a bright red face I very carefully turned around to where I was facing the shower wall. Only when my back was to him did I lower my arms, exposing my breasts to the wall I was staring at. I thought I heard Sam laugh softly and I started to turn around, but he caught my shoulders and made me stay put.

"No not yet," he told me gently, and then I felt the warm water as he sprayed it all over my back. I guess I had more blood there because he rubbed at my back as he rinsed it off, and then he moved further down to my backside. He ran his hand over both cheeks as he rinsed that off, and I felt myself turn red again. When he was done he patted my bare butt tenderly and then moved down to clean my legs off. He did that for a few minutes and then I felt the spray of the water travel back up my body.

"Tilt your head back a little, baby," he told me. "I need to rinse your hair out too."

Sighing a little, I did as he asked and tipped my head back. Sam ran his fingers through my hair carefully as he rinsed it out, and the massaging motion felt good. Breathing in deeply, I shivered slightly as Sam lifted my hair and gently rinsed off the back of my neck. Small rivers of water ran over my shoulders, flowing down between my breasts, and I watched in a lazy kind of way as the water dripped off my body. Then, right in the middle of this, exhaustion came and very nearly knocked me on my butt. I swayed and braced both hands on the wall, and I whimpered loudly.

"Take it easy," Sam said softly as he grabbed my arm and steadied me. "Hey, shhh," he added when I started to cry. "What's wrong, baby? Do you hurt somewhere?"

"Nooo," I moaned out. "Tired," I added pitifully.

"Okay," Sam said, and I heard him put the shower head back in place. Then suddenly I had a huge towel wrapped around me and Sam was turning me around. I tried to lift my foot then and bring it over the edge of the tub, but I almost slipped. After that Sam took no chances and simply scooped me up in his arms and lifted me out of the tub.

"You're gonna get all wet!" I half whined at him, feeling bad that he had been all nice and clean until now.

"It's just water, baby," he told me as he carefully placed me on the closed toilet lid. "It'll dry," he added as he knelt down in front of me. He rubbed at my arms with the towel and then looked at me. "You okay now? Can you sit here by yourself while I get your bath ready?"

I nodded as I wiped at my face with the towel. "Yes," I said in a very tiny voice. The new round of tears that were still falling from my eyes mingled in with the water, and I continued patting my face with the towel as I watched Sam.

He smiled softly at me and patted my knee. "Okay. It'll just take a few minutes to get it ready. Don't try to get up by yourself, okay?"

"Okay," I said in a trembling voice as I wrapped the towel around me tightly.

"That's my good girl," Sam said as he stood. He dropped a kiss on my forehead and then went back over to the tub. As he got my bath ready, I completely zoned out once more and didn't come back until Sam was suddenly scooping me up in his arms again. I quickly realized that I had somehow lost my towel and I tried to squirm in Sam's arms, embarrassed about being pressed up against him, totally naked.

"You're okay," he told me quietly as he approached the tub. I saw that it was full of bubbles and as Sam got closer I caught the scent of my most favorite fragrance. Japanese Cherry Blossom. The set Sam had bought me had included bubble bath, but I very rarely got to use it. I said nothing as Sam slowly and gently lowered me into the tub full of soapy water. He let me go and I leaned back. Almost instantly, my entire body relaxed completely. I stayed quiet as Sam got my shampoo and carefully began to wash my hair. I leaned up when he asked me to and closed my eyes when he got the shower head down again to rinse my hair out. Every move he made was gentle, careful, and full of patient love.

Once he got all of the shampoo out of my hair, he got my bath pouf, dipped it into the bath water, and then loaded it up with my favorite Olay body wash. Once he was done he had me lean forward again, and he began to wash my back. It was so relaxing I nearly fell asleep right then and there. I stayed still as he carefully lifted my hair and washed the back of my neck, and I didn't move as he let go of my wet hair and began scrubbing my shoulders. Once he was done with that, he gave the arm closest to him a few scrubs and then he started to lean over to get my other arm. But suddenly shyness hit me again, and soon I was cringing away from him. Trembling, I brought my knees up to my chest and crossed my arms over my breasts, trying to hide my body from view.

Sam sighed and leaned back a little. "Why are you so shy about your body?" he asked me as he rested his arms on the edge of the tub. His shirt sleeves were rolled up a little past his elbows, but I could see that they had still gotten wet. I shrugged in response to his question without looking at him. "You have a beautiful body, Rivan," he told me quietly. "You know that, don't you? There's nothing wrong with your body at all." He reached out and tucked a wet strand of hair behind my ear, and I sniffled.

He sighed again and held the bath pouf out to me. "Do you want to do it?" he asked me softly. For a moment I didn't move, and then slowly I reached out and took it. I clutched it in both hands and then sat there, shivering a little as I did. "You're getting cold," Sam told me as he ran a wet, soapy hand down my back. "Finish up baby, so I can get you out of there and dried off."

He stood then and I looked up at him, my eyes wide. "I'm gonna go get something for you to wear," he told as he nodded at the bathroom door. "You gonna be okay in here by yourself for a few minutes?" I nodded as I looked back down at the bath pouf I still held in my hands. "Okay. Don't try to get out of there by yourself," he added. "I'll get you out when I come back." I nodded my understanding, and then I heard him turn and leave the bathroom.

While he was gone I washed myself off a little more, and once I was done I wanted nothing more than to get out of the tub. I started to call out to Sam but I stopped. I didn't want to ask any more from him when he was already being so nice. I didn't deserve his loving, tender hands or his gentle patience. I had told him an awful lie, and yet here he was, taking care of me so wonderfully. As I sat there in the rapidly cooling water I had to wonder what I had done to deserve a man like this. Nothing, as far as I could see. I didn't deserve him. But he was still here.

I was kind of hanging over the edge of the tub, lost in thought, when Sam came back in. He had one of his flannel shirts in one hand, and I recognized it as the one I had snitched from him many months ago. In his other hand he had a pair of my lacy boy shorts, and the color was a dark blue. Sam's eyes went wide when he saw me hanging over the edge of the tub, and he tossed the clothes on the sink and quickly came over to me.

"What're you doing?" he asked as he crouched down next to the tub. "Rivan, are you okay?" he asked anxiously.

For a moment I closed my eyes, and then I opened them as I sat up. I looked at him, and he reached out and caressed my cheek. "You're still here," I told him softly.

He frowned a little. "What? What do you mean? Of course I'm here, baby. Where else would I be?"

I shook my head at him and reached up and swiped at my eyes. "I don't know why you're still here," I mumbled. Exhaustion was slamming down hard on me, making it hard to concentrate and even harder to explain what I meant. Finally I experienced a little clarity. "Why do you stay?" I whispered. "Why do you still love me?"

Sam's frown intensified. "Because you're the woman that was made for me," he answered simply, and then he leaned over and kissed me. "And because you're the woman I am crazy in love with," he added as he stood up. I said nothing as I watched him get a new towel. He tossed it over his shoulder and then came back over to me. Without a word he leaned down and pulled the stopper on the tub, and while the water was being sucked down the drain he helped me stand. As soon as I was on my feet he wrapped the towel around me, and then before I could protest he scooped me up in his strong arms. I let out a little squeak as my arms slipped around his neck, but I said nothing as he carried me over to the toilet. He placed me on the closed lid and then began to dry me in the most gentle and tender way.

"Can you stand?" he asked me quietly. I nodded and he helped me to my feet, and then he continued to dry me off. As he did he studied my body, and I could feel the blush on my cheeks again. "It's amazing that you don't have very many marks on your body," he said as he continued to examine me. "You hardly have any bruises, and just a few scratches. Does your body ache at all?" Sam asked as he wrapped an arm around my waist to hold me up better.

"No, not really," I told him as I rested my cheek on his shoulder. "I'm just very tired," I added.

"Okay," Sam said. "We're almost done." He rubbed the towel over my back again and then he let go of my waist and took my arm. He dropped the towel on the floor and then, with his free hand, he picked up my panties.

"I can do it," I said quickly, and my tone was almost panicky. Sam didn't say anything, and the next thing I knew I was sitting on the toilet seat again.

"You're not very stable, Rivan," Sam told me as he knelt down in front of me. "I don't think you can stand and put these on at the same time." He held my panties out and with a sigh I slipped my feet through the holes. My face turned a deeper red when he pulled them up to my knees, and then I was on my feet again. Before I could stop him he had my panties pulled up and in place, and once more I was sitting on the toilet.

Silently he got my shirt and helped me put it on. Carefully and patiently he buttoned it up for me, and when he was done he rolled the sleeves up for me, his hands moving quickly. When he was done with that he smiled softly at me and kissed me. "Let's see if we can get you a better seat than a toilet lid," he told me, and once again I found myself in his arms, bridal style, and he carried me out of the bathroom. He carried me over to my bed and placed me on it.

"I'll be right back," he said as he kissed me again. "I'm gonna clean the bathroom up," he added as he straightened and headed back to the bathroom.

I watched until he had disappeared inside, and then I sat there and waited. A few minutes passed before I started to experience another bout of panic. I hated to be here by myself and I hated that Sam wasn't here, even though he was just a few steps away. I sat there for a few more moments and then I just couldn't stand it anymore. I crawled off the bed and started toward the bathroom. My legs were wobbly and shaky, and when I finally reached the bathroom I leaned on the door jamb as I peered inside. Sam had the bathroom all cleaned up and now he was standing at the medicine cabinet, digging through it. On the sink next to him there was a few band aids, and I knew I was about to get patched up. Ugh. I didn't want to do that right now.

"Sam?" I said in a tiny voice.

He stopped what he was doing and looked around quickly, and when he saw me standing there his eyes went wide. "Rivan, what're you doing up?" he asked as he closed the medicine cabinet door. He rushed over to me and, before I could answer his question, he had me scooped up in his arms again. He carried me back to my bed and put me there, and then he gazed down at me.

"Don't get back up," he told me. "I need to get something to put on all those cuts on your face," he added as he studied my face. "And you should have an ice pack on that bruise," he said, referring to where James had hit me.

I shook my head at him as tears swam in my eyes. "No Sam," I moaned. "I don't want to do all of that. I want to lie down, and I want you to hold me! Can't we do it later?"

"Baby, I need to do it now. Infections can set in fast. It won't take long, I promise. Just stay here and don't get up again. Okay?"

My shoulders slumped and I groaned. "Okay," I said, giving in with a loud sigh.

Sam grinned at me. "Promise it won't take too long," he said, and he leaned down and kissed me before going back into the bathroom. Minutes later he came back, and much to my annoyance he had iodine for my cuts.

"It was all I could find," he said, his tone apologetic. I watched as he put everything on the small table by my bed, and then I watched as he got a cotton ball and put some of the iodine on it. "Hold still for me, okay?" he said gently as he turned to me. "This is gonna sting, but you need to hold still."

Though it was hard, I somehow managed to stay fairly still as he doctored my cuts, and once he was done he put small band aids on them. Then he started in on the cuts on my arms. My tolerance and my strength were starting to fade. When Sam finally put the last band aid on me, I was crying, and he quickly tossed the trash in the trash can next to my bed. The next thing I knew, he was stretched out on my bed, and I was lying right on top of him. My stomach was resting against his and my legs were entangled with his much longer legs. My head was lying on his chest with my ear pressed right over his heart, and as my body relaxed I listened to the steady _thump_-_thump _-_thump _beneath my ear. Resting one hand on my bottom, Sam began rubbing my back with his other hand in a slow, soothing motion. We stayed like that for quite a while, and we were silent as we comforted each other.

"You have chill bumps," Sam suddenly said as he ran his hand over my arm. "Are you cold?"

"A little," I admitted. Instantly Sam reached over and got the quilt that I had waded up there on the other side of the bed. He pulled it over to him and then covered me with it, making sure that it covered every inch of me. Then he put his arms under the quilt and went back to rubbing my back. A few more minutes ticked by in silence. As they did the events of the evening came back to me. All too soon I was weighed down with guilt, and I suddenly became desperate to get rid of it. Or at least some of it. At that moment I thought the best way to do that was through confession. Sam was bound to ask questions anyway, so I thought it would be best to get it over with as long as I was feeling somewhat brave enough to do it.

So I took a deep, quiet breath and plowed ahead. "Sam?" I whispered, not moving at all. "Are you awake?"

"Yep," he murmured. "What'cha need, baby?"

"Nothing really," I said as my fingers grazed his arms. "I just…" My voice faded away and I swallowed hard. "I just want to tell you…how sorry I am for what I did," I said in an even smaller whisper.

For several moments Sam said nothing. Then finally he sighed. "Let's not talk about it right now, baby," he told me as his hand moved down to my bottom. He gave it a gentle pat, and I sniffled. "It's okay for now," he added.

"No it's not!" I moaned. "Please, I have to tell you…please let me…please listen to me," I begged tearfully.

Again Sam sighed. "Okay," he gave in. "Tell me, then."

So I did. I told him everything. It all poured out of my mouth, like a bad secret I was desperate to share. I told him how I had heard him and Dean talking to Cas, and how the Angel had said it was important that I not come. I told him why I had disagreed with that. Then I told him how I planned it all out when I'd decided I was going to follow him and the others to the cemetery, despite everything that I had heard. I gave him every little detail. I gave him every little thought I'd had at the time. I told him how I switched the real ring for a fake. And it was at that very moment when I realized I didn't even know where the real ring was now.

I almost freaked out big time, but Sam quickly assured me that he had the ring. He had found it on the ground at some point and had picked it up. When I questioned how he knew it was the real ring when that fake ring had been in the cemetery as well, he'd explained that he'd already had the fake ring in his pocket when he'd found the real one.

"Look," he said as he reached into the open neck of his shirt. He pulled out the leather cord that he always wore and showed it to me. "See? Here it is, right where it started," he said. Sure enough, my ring was on the cord, safe and sound. I slumped against his chest when I saw it, and I continued on with my explanation as though there had been no frantic pause.

After I had explained how I had set my plans up and carried them out, I then told him everything that had happened when James had me in that dome with him. I told Sam what James had said about Lenora coming from a long line of hunters. I told him what James said the Langstons had been like, and I told him how Lenora had wanted to hunt but had been forbidden to. I told him how she had rebelled, and how she had been a great and powerful hunter. I filled in the blanks Cas had left us with when he'd told me of my ancestor, and I told Sam how James had wanted to "breed" the two of us with the hope that we would produce strong children that he would one day turn into vampires. And I told him that James had intended to do all of this with Lenora in my body.

Sam listened to all of this quietly and with very little reaction. Every once in a while his arms would tighten at certain things I said, like when I mentioned that James had wanted us to have children that he could control and turn. His arms tightened a few more times after that as I continued to spill my guts. I told him every little thing.

I only kept one thing from him. I didn't tell him how James had believed that I had inherited a special power, as the Langstons did in their time. I didn't tell him about how James had called himself giving that power a jump start. I'm not one hundred percent sure why I didn't tell him any of that. I guess for one thing, I still didn't believe that I had any kind of power. But I still had questions about it, and they were not questions I could ask Sam. In my mind, there was only one person who could answer these questions. But it would be a while before I could ask him.

So I left that part out of my story, and when I was finally done I was more exhausted than I had been right after the battle. As soon as I finished speaking, I felt myself beginning to drift toward the darkness. I could hear Sam talking softly to me, telling me that everything was going to be okay, and I heard his reassurances of love.

After a while I relaxed completely, and I finally fell asleep. All the talking that I had done in the early morning light ended up being the last serious talking I would do for a while.

* * *

><p><strong>Eden's POV:<strong>

I learned very quickly that the aftermath of a battle could be just as devastating as the battle itself. Rivan was having a hard time dealing with what she had gone through. I knew she was in pain, not physically but emotionally, and I wanted to ease that pain so much. But she wouldn't let me. In fact, she hardly ever talked to me. It scared and confused me, but I tried to be patient and understand. But it was _so_ hard. One time I was sitting in Bobby's living room with Sam and Rivan. Bobby was gone and Dean was off doing something, I'm not sure what, when out of the blue Rivan suddenly started begging Sam to come upstairs with her.

"I want to lie down!" she moaned when Sam asked her why. "Please Sam, please!" Of course Sam stood up, helped her off the couch, scooped her up in his arms, and headed for the stairs.

I sat there and watched in shock and devastation, for I had been trying to talk to Rivan before her outburst. "Sam, where's Dean?" I called out to him as he started up the stairs.

"Outside," Sam told me. "In the garage. Don't go out there," he added.

I frowned. "What? Why?"

"Dean doesn't want you out there by yourself," Sam told me, and that was the only answer I got. A few minutes later I heard a door shut, and I was left alone, worried and upset.

"Screw Dean," I muttered as I stood and went to the hall closet. I would only be out there by myself for the few minutes it took for me to get to the garage, after all. There was no way I was just going to sit in here by myself and go crazy. Besides, I had a few questions I wanted to ask Dean anyway. I just hadn't had the time until now.

So with that in mind I pulled my coat out and slipped it on, buttoning it as I walked to the front door. With my coat only half buttoned, I jerked the door open and stepped out into the bitter cold that was South Dakota. It was the fourth day of November and we had yet to see any snow, but it sure was cold. And dang if I wasn't having a hard time trying to get the last few buttons on my coat fixed. After another few minutes of trying while standing there on the door step, I said screw it to that too and stuffed my freezing hands into my pockets. Then I started off.

As I walked I glanced at the rows and rows of cars that surrounded me. They were all mangled to some degree, some not as bad off as others. I always thought of Bobby's junk yard as a car cemetery. Sure, there were some that he was able to fix and get running again, but most were here for the sole purpose of spare parts. I could see a lot of them had already been stripped. So I guess it was more like a car cemetery with a few living organ donors hanging around. I snorted softly. Sounds like so much fun.

Shaking my head at myself, I moved on, heading toward the open garage. As I got closer I could hear a faint metallic clang, followed by a hearty dose of frustrated cussing. I smiled as I picked up the speed. Sounded like Dean was working on something, and it sounded like he wasn't having much luck with it. I frowned a little as I reached the entrance to the garage, and paused. Sam had said Dean didn't want me out here, yet here I was. I hope I wasn't about to get in trouble.

Upon having that thought, any other person would have turned around and quietly left. Nope, not me. I kept going, and after taking a few steps into the garage I could see Dean sitting on a stool in front of a long, metal table. There were several small parts of…something on the table, and currently Dean had a screw driver in one hand and his homemade EMF reader in the other. I watched as he took the screw driver and poked around inside the exposed panel, and then he jumped with the reader let out a rather loud spark and an even louder beeping sound before it fizzled out.

"Ah, come on!" Dean snarled at it as he gave the contraption a good smack. "I almost had it! Give me a break!" Muttering, he tossed the screw driver on the table. "I was almost done! Son of a—"

"You know, maybe there's a ghost around here that doesn't want you to get it working," I interrupted that curse as I took a step further into the garage. Dean whipped around at the sound of my voice, and I grinned at him. He blinked at me and then frowned.

"Eden, what're you doin' out here?" he asked me as he put the EMF on the table. "It's freezing. Did you come out here alone?" he asked next before I could respond.

"Well I don't know," I said with a casual shrug as I started toward him. "You can't get your EMF working, so how am I to know if there's a ghost or something worse out here?"

Dean narrowed his eyes at me. "That's not funny," he informed me, though I thought I saw the corners of his mouth twitch up just a little. "Come here," he added, pointing at the ground right next to where he sat.

For a moment I stopped walking, and then with a sigh I continued on. "I wasn't by myself that long," I told him softly as I reached him. As soon as I did Dean wrapped one strong arm around my waist and pulled me to him. He moved me to where I was standing between his legs and I rested my hands on his chest while I looked up at him. He was frowning down at me rather intently, and I swallowed hard.

"Do you know how long it takes a ghost or somethin' worse to snatch you up?" Dean asked me.

I made a face at him and bit down on my lower lip. "Umm…about as long as it took me to get from the front door to here?" I hazarded a guess.

Dean shook his head. "Nope. Most supernatural abductions happen in less than a second," he informed me.

I flinched. "Oh," I said in a small voice as I tugged on one of the buttons on his coat.

Dean snorted. "Yeah, _oh_," he growled at me. "I've told you that before, Eden. You should have known better to come out here alone. I told Sam to tell you that in case you got the idea in your pretty little head."

"Well…Sam did tell me you said not to," I admitted. Maybe that was stupid of me to do, but I knew Dean would ask Sam about it later, and I had a reason why I'd gone ahead and done it anyway. "But Dean, Missouri's protective spells are still on Bobby's property!" I added quickly when Dean's eyes darkened at my honesty. "She told us that before she left," I reminded him.

Missouri had left only hours after everyone had come home from the fight. She had not wanted to leave quite that soon, but a family member had called looking for help with an evil spirit that had showed up in their home, and Missouri had been forced to go. But before she left she had told us all that the spells she had placed on the house and the property was still standing, and they always would unless she took them off. And with those words she'd hugged me and Rivan, told us to behave and listen to Sam and Dean, said good-bye to everyone else, and she was gone. Ellen and Jo had followed her a few hours later.

Now I looked up at Dean nervously. "I figured I'd be safe with her spells still up. They've worked so far," I added softly when Dean pressed his lips together.

"I learned a long time ago you can't put your full trust into those kinds of things, Eden," he told me. "Not forever. They can work just fine for so long and then _bam_! It's gone. You don't test stuff like that. I thought you knew better. I've certainly taught you better than that. Or at least I've tried," he added.

I sighed. "I'm sorry, Dean. I…couldn't help it. I was inside with Sam and Rivan, and Rivan got real upset over something and she wanted to go upstairs and rest. She wanted Sam to go with her of course, and there I was, alone and worried and scared. I asked Sam where you were and he told me, and he did tell me that you didn't want me to come out here by myself. I'm sorry, Dean. I didn't want to be alone. I wanted to be with you! Please don't be mad at me," I added in a rather tearful voice before I buried my face against his chest.

For a moment Dean said nothing, and then he sighed deeply. I felt him wrap both arms around me, and he hugged me tight. "Okay," he told me as he dropped a kiss on the top of my head. I sniffled a little and whimpered as he brought his warm love all around me. "I'm sorry I jumped on you. I know you're goin' through a lot with Rivan. She's havin' a hard time, and because of that _you're_ havin' a hard time. I get that. I'm sorry I got grouchy with you. It's just…sometimes I get scared too," he said with another deep sigh.

"I know," I told him as I hugged him. I squeezed my eyes shut as he held me. God, I was so glad this man was okay. I could remember how scared I had been when he left, and then when he came back and was covered in blood….oh dear Lord. I'd been standing by the window watching when everyone came back from the fight. When I finally saw Dean get out of the Impala, I'd nearly had a heart attack then and there. He'd been covered in blood and, along with developing a black eye, he had several cuts on his face. Crying out, I had broken out of Missouri arms and had run outside. I had thrown myself into Dean's arm, not caring one bit that he was covered in sweat, dirt, and blood. I had just wanted to hold him to reassure myself that he was there and he was okay.

He was, thankfully, as was everyone else. Well, as okay as they could be. Rivan had been the worst, and still was. She had never been in such a terrible fight before. All of the others were used to it, in a way. Rivan was not, and so, was having a hard time dealing with it all. For the past two days I'd been watching her as she tried to cope, and I had suffered right along with her. Needless to say, it was terrible.

As Dean held me tight out there in Bobby's garage, I remembered some of the questions I had for him. "Dean?" I said in a hesitant voice.

"What, sweetheart?" he asked softly.

I swallowed hard. "Do you think…um…well…you don't think Sam's going to…spank Rivan anytime real soon, do you?" I asked him. Just last night I had gone downstairs and had heard Sam and Dean in the kitchen, talking about Rivan. Sam was stressed about her condition and wanted her to get better soon. For one thing he hated to see her suffering, and for another he was so damn mad at her over what she'd done he just wanted to put her over his knee and spank her until she blistered, and then spank her some more. I knew, of course, that he would never literally do that, but the fact that he even said it told me how very mad he was. And he truly was. The man was totally pissed. I mean, I had never seen him so mad before. But when he was around Rivan, he was as gentle and as sweet as anyone could be. That was good, because right now that's what she needed. I just hoped Sam would continue to remember that.

Dean sighed at my question, and the next thing I knew I was sitting on his knee. I looked up at him in surprise, and he grinned down at me. "You heard me and Sam talkin' last night, didn't you?" he asked me.

I felt myself blush terribly, and I made a face at him. "Yes," I grumbled. "I did." I was quiet for a moment. "He's so mad at her, Dean," I told him softly.

Dean inhaled sharply and focused his eyes on the broken EMS. "Yeah," he said as he frowned. "He is. I don't think I've ever seen him so mad. Or so scared," he added. "Rivan almost died out there," Dean told me quietly. "We _all_ almost died out there." He fell silent then, and all I could do was stare at him. Finally Dean noticed and glanced at me. "But I don't think you have to worry," he assured me with a small smile. "She's not goin' over Sam's knee any time real soon. He's gonna give her time to heal. She needs that right now. He's not an ass, Eden. He's not going to spank her right now."

I bit down on my lower lip. "Are you sure?"

Dean nodded. "Pretty sure," he told me.

I relaxed a little. "Good," I said, and then frowned. "But he's definitely going to at some point?"

Dean blinked and glanced at me before gazing around the garage. "Probably," he admitted. "Right now he's confused about it. Part of him wants to because what she did was beyond stupid and dangerous, but the other part of him doesn't want to because he's just glad she's alive and pretty much okay. But in the end I imagine he will. It's like I said, though. Right now Rivan needs to do a lot of healing, and it's mainly emotional. And she's not the only one. Sam needs to do some healing too. He almost lost her. That takes some getting over."

I nodded. "Yeah," I said quietly. Feelingh a bit better about that situation, I sighed and rested my head against Dean's shoulder. "Are you going to stay out here much longer?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "Nah, probably not. I just came out here for a while to get out of the house. Things are pretty tense in there."

I snorted. "Yeah, tell me about it," I muttered. "Why do you think I came out here?" I asked, my tone so dry I was in danger of changing the current weather of South Dakota.

I felt Dean stiffen, and I knew I had just stepped in it. "I know why you came out here," he said quietly. Too quietly. "That's the only reason why you're not over my knee right now, gettin' your ass warmed up."

I bit down on my lower lip and squirmed a little. "I'm sorry," I whispered as I studied my hands.

Dean was quiet for a moment. "Forget it," he said shortly. "So what got Rivan so upset she wanted to go hide upstairs?" he asked, apparently willing to skip over our tense moment.

If he was willing to skip it, I sure was. "I don't know," I told him miserably. "I was trying to talk to her, and suddenly she just like…I don't know, got a panic attack and wanted to go upstairs. I guess she didn't want to talk to me," I added, and my voice broke as my hurt feelings came forward in a rush.

"Hey," Dean said quickly as his hugged me to him. "That's not true. It had nothing to do with you. Rivan went through some serious stuff the other night, and she's still in shock. There's no tellin' what's goin' on in her mind right now, sweetheart. So try not to take it so personally, okay? I know that's tough to do, but you gotta hang in there with her and do whatever you can for her. She'll come around soon enough," he promised me as he dropped another kiss on the top of my head.

"I hope so," I said with a little whimper.

"She will," Dean assured me. "She's tough. She won't let this beat her." I didn't say anything to that, but I snuggled closer to him. For several minutes we just sat there together, enjoying each other's company. Then Dean stirred and gave me a little squeeze.

"We better go in now," he told me. "It's getting colder out here."

I made a face as I sat up. "Okay," I said reluctantly. "But you're not going to come out here a lot, are you? I want you to stay inside with me, Dean. I can be pretty strong when I need to be, but I can't always do it alone," I told him as I gazed up at him with tear filled eyes.

He grinned down at me and reached up to stroke my cheek. "I've got your back, sweetheart," he told me softly. Then, with a wicked grin, "Along with your cute little ass." I made a face at him, and he winked at me. Then he gave me a gentle squeeze before turning serious once more and tenderly adding, "I'll be there to hold you up. You can count on that." he vowed. I felt my body relax completely at those words, and I leaned up to kiss him. Much to my surprise, however, he stopped me.

"But if I do happen to come out here again, you better not trot out after me by yourself," he warned me firmly. "I mean it, Eden. If you do it again, my belt's coming off."

Ignoring the alarm that shot through my body, I looked up at him with a cocky grin on my face. "Why, Dean Winchester!" I said, mock horror in my voice. "Are you saying you want to make love to me out here in Bobby's garage?" I demanded, making myself sound outraged. "You're a kinky fella, you know that?" I added with a grin.

Dean stared at me in shock, and for a moment the expression was frozen on his face. Then it thawed and he slowly grinned at me. "Sounds to me like _you_'_re _the kinky one, sweetheart," he replied as he raised one eyebrow at me. "Seriously, make love to you in Bobby's garage?" he snorted, and then he thought about it. "Well, maybe it would be fun," he admitted, and I laughed at him. "But I'd rather have my way with you in a nice, warm bed."

"Well, I have to admit that would probably be better," I said with a sigh. "After all, it's so cold out here little Dean junior would probably shrivel all up. What fun would that be?" I asked with a casual shrug. "Oh Dean, no!" I shrieked when he suddenly slipped his hand under my coat to tickle my sides.

"_Little_ Dean junior?" he demanded, his tone indignant as he continued to tickle me silly. "Come on, you know better than that!" The only response he got to that was a squeal. I begged for mercy and thankfully I got it quickly, and then I got a nice kiss before I could pout about the tickling.

"I don't think _BIG _Dean junior would do any shriveling with _you_ around, sweetheart," he told me, his tone silky.

I made a face at him and pulled him back down for another kiss. "No fair with the tickling," I told him when we parted. I pouted up at him, and he grinned.

"No one ever said I play fair, sweetheart," he told me cheerfully.

"Yeah, no kidding," I grumbled.

Dean's grin got wider and he patted my leg before suddenly moving me off his lap. He set me on the ground before him, and I scooted back as he hopped off the stool. "Come on," he said as he took my hand. "Time to go back inside." Sighing, I took his hand and he led me out of the garage. We walked by the car cemetery silently, and just before we got to the door Dean stopped and looked at me.

"I meant it about not coming out here by yourself," he told me, and I groaned inwardly. I had thought I had distracted him from that. Darn. "I know Missouri left those spells up, but I don't want to risk it. You're to stay in the house, Eden," he warned me firmly. "If you come out here by yourself again for any reason, I _will _spank that pretty little ass of yours. Understand me, sweetheart?"

I swallowed hard and looked down at the ground. He was using that sharp, _don_'_t-give-me-any-crap-or-else _tone, and I knew better than to try to make light of it again. "Yes sir," I said softly as I kept my eyes on the ground. "I understand."

"That's my girl," Dean said, and I was pulled into his arms for another hug. We parted and he kissed me again, and then we turned and braced ourselves as we went back into the house.

* * *

><p>Rivan got worse over the next few days. I had never seen anything like it in all of our years of being friends. She suddenly stopped talking completely. She wouldn't talk to anyone. The only response she ever gave anyone was a shrug of her shoulders or a nod or shake of her head. She hardly looked at anyone either, even when someone was talking directly to her. She wasn't sleeping well, and she wasn't eating real great either. She walked around the house with dark shadows in her eyes and a look on her face that screamed guilt and shame. It was terrible to watch and I couldn't seem to ease her pain no matter how hard I tried.<p>

Of course, the one person she responded best to was Sam. She stayed with him all the time and followed him everywhere, with the only exception being the bathroom. He couldn't be out of her sight for very long without her going into a panic attack. Once when Dean was upstairs taking a shower Bobby asked Sam if he would come outside and help him with something. Of course Rivan wanted to go with them, but Sam hadn't wanted her to because the weather was so cold that it was almost painful to be outside.

Upon hearing Sam's suggestion that Rivan stay inside and keep warm, she had begun to sob terribly and Sam had been forced to give in and let her go outside with him. He had wrapped her up in one of his coats because he'd thought her coat wasn't heavy enough to keep her warm, and Rivan had spent the next two hours outside with Sam and Bobby. Despite the nice, heavy coat Sam had put on her she'd come in shivering, and Sam had banned anymore trips outside for the time being.

Sam took very good care of Rivan during this time. Often they would sit on the couch together, and he would hold her so gently. If she cried, he'd talk softly to her and stroke her hair or rub her back. He never got impatient or short with her no matter what, and he sought to make her as happy and as comfortable as he could. I was glad he was so good to her, because at the moment she was just as fragile as a child.

A lot of times she reminded me of a child too. Usually when she wanted Sam's attention she reached out with one small hand and tugged at the end of his shirt, or sometimes she would tug at the sleeve of his shirt. Every time she did this Sam would turn gentle, loving eyes on her and ask patiently what she wanted. At first she would never answer him verbally, but usually all she ever wanted was to crawl into his lap and be held. About a day or two later she actually started whispering her requests in Sam's ear, and this delighted him. Since she had not been doing that, he viewed it as progress and it cheered him up. It cheered all of us up, to be honest.

We were all stressed and worried about Rivan. And we were all dealing with it differently. Bobby stayed out of the house most of the time. Either he went to work on something in his junk yard or he'd go off and run errands that lasted most of the day. I handled the stress by talking endlessly to Rivan whether she responded or not, and when that didn't help I turned to Dean. All he had to do was hold me in his strong arms and kiss me, and I felt better. Thank God for super good boyfriends.

Anyway, Sam and Dean handled the situation by talking about it and trying to figure out what was wrong with her. More than once I had caught them discussing Rivan, and they wondered if James had done something to her during the battle and as a result she was changing. Once that was brought up Sam spent quite a while asking her questions about how she felt. Did she hurt anywhere? Was she dizzy? Did she black out at all? Had there ever been a time when she suddenly realized that she didn't remember what she had done that day, or the day before? Rivan shook her head in response to all of these questions, as well as all the others Sam asked her. The questions went on for a few more days, and after that Sam and Dean talked some more and batted ideas back and forth until Sam finally came to a conclusion.

"I think one of her main problems is that she's feeling guilty over what she did," Sam told Dean in the kitchen one day. Rivan was asleep on the couch in the living room, Bobby was outside, and I was sitting at the kitchen table with Sam and Dean as they talked.

"Well she damn well better feel guilty," Dean growled, and I frowned over at him. "What she did was insane and stupid!"

"I know," Sam said calmly. "But I don't want you to say anything to her about it, Dean. I don't want anyone chewing her out about it right now. She knows what she did was wrong. She isn't dumb. She feels bad about the whole thing." Sam paused for a moment and stared at the tablecloth, the look on his face thoughtful. After a few moments he sighed and looked back at Dean.

"I also think the other problem that she's having is that she thinks everyone is mad at her and that you all hate her," he continued. "She thought for a while I hated her too, but I finally convinced her I didn't. But I still think she believes everyone else is mad at her and hates her."

Dean made a face. "Well of course we're mad at her," he said. "Or at least I sure am. But hell, I don't hate her!"

"I know that," Sam replied. "But she doesn't. So it might help a lot if you both let her know that you don't hate her at all," he said as he glanced at me.

"Of course I don't hate her!" I said. "I'm scared, and I'm worried about her! I'm not even mad at her anymore! I just want her to get better!"

"So then let her know," Sam told me. "She might not say anything back to you, but just let her know."

I nodded, and seconds later I heard Rivan cry out from the living room. Before Sam could get to his feet she was standing at the kitchen door, looking scared and panicky.

"Hey baby," Sam said as he turned to her. He took in the look on her face and held a hand out to her. She ran to him quickly and, when she reached him, she hopped into his lap and threw her arms around his neck. She was shaking as Sam held her, and I swallowed hard as tears filled my eyes. I hated to see her like this.

"It's okay," Sam assured her as he rubbed her back. "Don't be scared, I'm right here," he murmured. She snuggled closer to him and whimpered a little. For quite a while Dean and I sat there while Sam held Rivan, and once she calmed down she pulled away a little and wiped at her eyes. I decided now was as good a time as any to carry out Sam's suggestion.

"Rivvie?" I said softly, and my heart ached when she flinched as though I had hit her. She glanced at me for about half a second and then looked down at her hands. "Rivvie…you know I'm not mad at you, don't you?" I pressed on. "And you certainly know that I don't hate you for what you did, right? You're my best friend, Rivvie. I could never hate you." For a moment she did nothing, and then she looked at me. And it wasn't just a quick glance before looking away again. She actually looked me in the eyes, and I could see surprise and desperate hope in her dark blue eyes. Sam had called it right. She truly thought I hated her.

"I don't hate you," I repeated gently but firmly. "And I'm not even mad at you," I added again, in case she missed it the first time.

I watched in amazement as a lot of the stress and worry on my best friend's face seemed to slide right off. For the first time in days, she gave me a tiny smile, and I smiled back as some of my own stress left me. Geez, if that was all she'd needed, I wished I would have thought to do it before now. For a few more seconds Rivan and I stared at each other, communicating in a quiet way, as only best friends can. Then she looked over at Dean, and the fear and pain crept back into her eyes. She cringed again and hid her face against Sam's chest. I went and kicked Dean in the leg under the table, and he looked at me sharply. I narrowed my eyes at him and nodded at Rivan.

Pressing his lips together, he looked over at her. "Rivan," he said abruptly, and Rivan jumped and looked at him. Sam rolled his eyes at his brother and dropped a soothing kiss on the top of Rivan's head, but Dean ignored him and stayed focused on Rivan. He took a deep breath and shook his head at her. "So we're back to this conversation again, huh?" he said to her, and she turned a bright red.

I knew what Dean was talking about. Rivan had told me all about how Dean had been hard on her while we'd been Maine. I had witnessed some of his harsh behavior toward her, but apparently there had been more that I had not seen. Because of the way Dean had been acting, Rivan had thought that he hated her. Now she thought again that he hated her, and when she glanced at me nervously I gave her a small smile. She returned it and then glanced back at Dean before looking away.

Dean sighed. "Though I have more reason to hate you this time—"

"_DEAN_!" Both Sam and I yelled as Rivan cringed.

"—I _**don**_'_**t **_hate you," Dean finished as he flashed a dirty look at Sam. Lucky me got away without getting a similar look. "So if you think that I do, just go ahead and get it out of your crazy head," he added. "And I'm sorry, but I can't say I'm not mad at you," he added. Rivan glanced at him again, and I watched as the hard look on Dean's face softened. "But I do not hate you," he assured her again, his tone firm.

"See?" Sam said to Rivan as he gave her a squeeze. "I told you no one hates you. And that includes Bobby," he added.

"Course I don't hate her," Bobby's rough voice suddenly barked out, and we all turned in surprise to see him coming through the kitchen door. We hadn't even heard him open the front door. "She's like a daughter to me," he continued in his grouchy voice as he went over to the sink. "I sure as hell can't hate my own daughter, can I?" he asked roughly as he turned to look at us. Rivan stared back at him with wide eyes, and he sighed. "I don't hate you," he growled at her. "But I'm like Dean. Can't say I'm not mad at you. But I don't hate you."

For a moment Rivan studied him, and then she gave him the cutest, sweetest smile anyone could ever give, and Bobby flushed and turned back to the sink. "Crazy," he mumbled as he poured himself some coffee. "Thinkin' I hate her. Never seen a woman who needed her ass tanned more," he added as he turned and stomped out of the kitchen.

I was afraid that last comment would upset Rivan, but to my surprise and relief she only seemed amused by it. She snuggled happily against Sam and sighed contently, and Sam held her close. It seemed she could handle people being mad at her as long as they didn't hate her. I could understand, of course. But anyway, we spent the rest of the afternoon in the kitchen talking while Rivan simply listened. She didn't eat much at dinner when that rolled around, but she did okay and not long after that Sam took her upstairs and helped her get ready for bed. She couldn't go to bed and go to sleep unless Sam sat in there with her and held her until she fell asleep. As long as he did that her nights were fine.

After the day everyone told Rivan they didn't hate her, I had hoped she would feel better and start acting more like herself. But to my shock and dismay she actually got a little worse. Well, to be honest, some things about her got worse, while others did not. As far as the more positive things go, she wasn't freaking out as much if she happened to lose sight of Sam. As long as he didn't stay away too long, she was okay with him being in the kitchen while she stayed in the living room. So that was something at least.

But as for the not so positive part…well, it was pretty bad. She suddenly stopped eating as much. She still nibbled things here and there, but now she was doing it less and less. Sam tried to get her appetite back on a better track by tempting her with all the foods he knew she liked. When she rejected everything he offered her, he turned to me to see if I knew of anything else that she liked. Unfortunately I didn't. Sam had offered her every kind of food I knew she loved. But then I remembered something.

"She likes Taco Bell a lot," I suddenly said one day as I sat in the living room with Sam and Dean. Sam was sitting on the couch and Rivan was stretched out on her stomach across his lap, and he was rubbing her back while gazing down at her with pure worry in his eyes. Dean was sitting in the chair across from them and I was in his lap. Like I said, I spent as much time as I could with Dean to ease the pain of watching my friend suffer. If I hadn't had Dean I'm not sure how I would have made it through it all.

"Taco Bell, huh?" Sam said as he reached out to stroke Rivan's hair. "Does that sound good, Rivan?" he asked her gently. She was awake and staring off into space, but when he spoke to her she blinked and then shrugged in response to his question.

"Is there even a Taco Bell around here?" Dean asked as he pulled me closer and placed a kiss on my temple.

"Yeah, we passed one just as we were driving into Sioux Falls," Sam said with a tired sigh. "Rivan, do you want something from there?" Sam asked her. She didn't give any response to that question. She just lied there across Sam's lap and picked at the seam on his jeans. He caught her hand and held it gently, rubbing his thumb over the top of her hand. "What does she usually like to eat there?" Sam asked me. I found it odd that we had never eaten at a Taco Bell since we'd been with Sam and Dean. It had always been diners and truck stops for us.

"Umm, well she likes soft tacos," I told him as I watched my friend. She didn't seem to be listening to a word of our conversation. "And they have those little cheese roll up things," I added. "I think she'd like those better."

"Do you want to try those, Rivan?" Sam asked her. She sighed rather deeply in response and then suddenly pushed herself up. She sat there on the couch with her legs tucked under her and watched Sam with one eye while she rubbed at the other eye in a rather cute, childish way. Her lower lip slid into a pout and she dropped her hand from her eye and gave Sam the full force of her pitiful stare.

I couldn't help but grin. That particular look had gotten us out of a lot of trouble when we'd been kids. Because of Rivan, we'd gotten away with a lot things when we should have had our butts kicked. But Rivan was great at gazing up at someone with those round, dark blue eyes of hers, and with her sweet, pleading face combined with her pouty look she could get out of almost anything. If the look and the pout didn't work she'd usually go for the tears next. That was pretty much all she needed to make just about anyone melt.

Despite the fact that she was now twenty-six, nothing had really changed. She seemed to have perfected this trick of hers and used it whenever she could. Sam was a sucker for it sometimes, but he didn't always fall for it. In fact, he was the only person I knew who could resist it the most. Though I loved my best friend dearly, I had to admit that this was a good thing. She needed a man who wouldn't let her walk all over him. Rivan was stubborn and rather defiant, and she could do some of the stupidest things I'd ever seen. She needed at least one person in her life who would call her on the carpet for her actions and be able to ignore her pretty, pleading look at the same time.

Sam was that one person, and he demonstrated his ability to not be sucked in by her pouting at that moment. Rivan had eaten next to nothing in the last two days, and Sam knew he couldn't let her get away with that.

"Rivan, you have to eat," he told her, and though his voice was still gentle, it was firm as well. Rivan picked up on that quickly and responded with tears. Her eyes filled up with them and a few spilled out and fell down her pretty face. Sam sighed deeply and reached out to wipe her tears away. "You need to eat," he repeated, still just as firmly. "I'll go get you some of those cheese roll ups from Taco Bell, okay?" Rivan frowned as he stood up and pulled his wallet out. He opened it and glanced at the contents, and while he was counting bills he spoke again.

"Why don't you come with me?" he asked her. "It might make you feel better if you went out, even if it's only for a few minutes."

Before Rivan could give any kind of response to that Dean suddenly spoke. "Do you have enough money?" he asked Sam.

Sam glanced at him. "Yeah, I'm good," he told him. He looked back down at Rivan, who was still sitting on the couch and staring up at him with a look of annoyance on her face. "Come on," he said, offering her his hand. "Come with me, baby. All you have to do is sit in the passenger seat. You don't even have to get out. We'll go through the drive thru."

Rivan wrinkled her nose at him in the funniest way and then shook her head. Sam sighed but smiled at her, and then leaned down and kissed her. "Okay," he said as he straightened. He knew when it was best to force her to do something and when it was not. "I'll be back then," he added as he moved to the hall closet to get his coat. He pulled it out and put it on, and then turned to me and Dean. "Do you want anything while I'm out?" he asked us.

"Not me," Dean replied, and glanced at me.

"Nope, I'm good," I said as I kept my eyes on Rivan. She looked a little confused, and I thought I saw a bit of panic in her eyes.

"Okay then," Sam said as he started for the door. "I'll be back." He opened it, stepped out, and then closed it firmly. Sam locked it behind him, and at that point Rivan let loose with an awful scream of pure terror.

"NO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. It was the first word she had said in days. "NO SAM, DON'T LEAVE ME!" she howled as she shot off the couch. She lunged toward the door and I jumped off Dean's lap, and then I just stood there, not sure what to do.

Rivan grabbed the door knob and gave it a vicious twist, but she had failed to notice that Sam had locked the top lock, and she didn't think to look and unlock it. Rivan screamed again and kicked the door so hard I was sure she'd break a toe. But if she had hurt herself she didn't realize it. She was only aware of one pain, and that was caused from Sam's departure.

"Rivvie, it's okay!" I tried to soothe her, but it didn't work. She started to cry loud and hard, and then finally I heard the lock on the front door click and then Sam was back in the room, his eyes wide. Rivan let out a cry of relief and ran to him, throwing her arms around his middle.

"Don't go away!" she sobbed as she hugged him tight. "I'm sorry I did it, I'll be good!" she promised between gasping sobs. "Please don't leave me Sam, please don't leave me!"

Looking as though someone had reached into his stomach and ripped his guts out, Sam scooped her up in his arms and took her over to the couch. He sat down and cuddled her on his lap, kissing and soothing and rubbing her back as he spoke to her and tried to calm her down. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left," he told her softly. "I don't know what I was thinking. Well actually I do," he corrected himself. "You've been better about not getting so upset if I go into another room, so I thought it would be okay. It was stupid of me to think that. I'm sorry, baby. Shhh, it's okay. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere, okay?"

Rivan calmed down pretty quickly after that, and Dean and I ended up going to Taco Bell. We came home with more food than we had first planned on, because we had decided to just go ahead and get everyone dinner. Bobby came home not long after we got back, and we all sat down at the table to eat. Despite Sam's encouragement and his gentle pleading, Rivan only ate half of one cheese roll up, and we had gotten her three. They weren't very big at all, so eating just half of one didn't equal to near enough food for a person to eat. Afterwards Rivan insisted on going to bed and Sam went upstairs with her as usual to hold her until she fell asleep.

The next few days that followed were the same as far as eating went. If Sam could get Rivan to eat half a piece of toast in the morning he was extremely lucky. In the afternoon she usually ate a few crackers, and in the evening she hardly ate anything for dinner. But Sam always fixed her a plate full of whatever we had cooked, and he'd put it in front of her diligently every night.

Then he'd sit next to her and eat his own dinner while trying to get her to eat something off of her plate. He always sat close to her and most of the time he had his arm around her, and before dinner was over, she ended up pressed against him with her face hidden in his shirt while begging him not to make her eat. Of course, since she wasn't talking, her pleading consisted of shaking her head. Sometimes Sam would ask her if her stomach hurt, and sometimes she would nod her head yes, and sometimes she'd shake her head. On some nights I could tell that she just simply didn't want to eat.

On the nights when she just didn't want to eat, Sam was pushier about making her eat a few bites of something, and sometimes she would give in and take a few mouthfuls of mashed potatoes or vegetables. But that was it after that. She cried terribly when Sam tried to make her eat more, and because of that he wouldn't force her any further. One evening Dean complained about that to Sam while Rivan and I were in the living room. She was staring off in space and didn't seem to hear them, but I listened to every word.

"You need to start forcing her to eat more, Sam," Dean told him, his tone grouchy yet concerned at the same time. "I don't care if she does cry. She can't keep doing this!"

"I'm aware of that Dean," Sam told him, sounding so tired and worried. "But I am not gonna force her when she's crying like that. If she eats when she's that upset it'll just make her sick. I'm not gonna do it, Dean. So don't bitch at me about it, okay? I've got enough problems without having you on my back about how I'm handling this."

"Okay, fine," Dean snapped. "Have it your way. I was only tryin' to help. You know, I'm just glad that Eden didn't get it in her head to sneak out too!" he added. "Hell, I don't know if we could survive two of them in shock like this. But at least Eden knows how to be good and stay put when I ask her to."

"You never _asked_ her to, Dean," Sam growled at him. "You told her you'd take your belt to her if she didn't."

Dean snorted. "Yeah well, the point is, Sammy, she listened. Maybe next time you ought to tell Rivan the same thing!"

Thankfully the conversation didn't go any further after that, because if it had I imagined it wouldn't have been pretty. Needless to say, Sam and Dean didn't talk much to each other after that.

And surprisingly enough, Dean didn't say anything more about Rivan not eating. Not even when Rivan got worse and started hiding whenever it was time for dinner. The first time she did it Sam spent a half hour trying to find her. When he started to panic, Dean and I pitched in and helped him search, and so did Bobby. Sam finally found her hiding under his bed, and it took him almost an hour to talk her out. When she finally crawled out from under the bed, our dinner was stone cold and Sam actually showed a bit of annoyance toward Rivan, telling her not to hide anymore. He also told her that, if she scared him like that again, he'd spank her, hard.

It was the first time Sam had mentioned anything about spanking Rivan out loud to anyone other than Dean. I knew he was mad at her because of what she had done, and of course I knew he wanted nothing more than to haul her over his knee and paddle her until her butt blistered. That was one of the many things Sam and Dean still talked about as far as Rivan was concerned. That's why I was so amazed at how gentle and patient Sam had been with her. But this time his temper snapped a bit, and after issuing his warning Rivan burst into loud sobs, and Sam went soft on her again. But he wasn't able to get her to eat anything for dinner other than her few bites, and the next night she hid again when dinner time rolled around. The best thing I could say about that was at least she hid in the same place, and at least she hadn't done it for breakfast and lunch.

Sam surprised me by not spanking Rivan when he pulled her out from under his bed the very next night. After that he got smart, and whenever dinner rolled around he made sure she didn't slip away from him. He'd sit on the couch and hold her in his lap, stubbornly refusing to let her go. If she insisted that she had to go to the bathroom, Sam followed her upstairs and waited for her outside the bathroom door. As a result Rivan always came to the dinner table pouting, and of course she wouldn't eat anything other than her few bites. No matter how much Sam begged her to, she just wouldn't.

Every day was the same. Half a piece of toast for breakfast, a few crackers for lunch. Much to everyone's growing concern, her few bites of dinner turned into one bite only, and then soon she was eating nothing at all for dinner. Her peaceful nights were gone too. Now being held by Sam for just a little while wasn't enough. He had to stay with her all night, and I stayed in the other room with Dean to give them some privacy. Not that I minded sleeping with Dean, of course. I was so stressed and worried about Rivan, and sharing a bed with Dean and having him hold me so gently was the only relief I found for the day. One night I expressed my serious concerns about Rivan to Dean, and asked him if he thought she ought to go somewhere for extra help.

"You mean like a therapist?" he asked as he held me close.

"Yeah," I said softly. "She's just getting worse, Dean."

Dean was quiet for a moment. "I'm not sure that would help her, Eden," he told me. "I mean, what's she supposed to tell a therapist? 'Hey doc, I was an idiot and went to help my boyfriend fight in a battle against a vampire King when I wasn't supposed to, and everything that I saw and went through is just really buggin' the crap out of me'?"

I rolled my eyes and gave him a pinch. "Dean, I'm being serious!" I whined at him.

"Yeah well, so am I," he replied. "And if you're gonna pinch me, would you at least do it the way I like it? Ouch!" he yelped when I bit him on the shoulder. "No biting, sweetheart," he growled at me, and gave me a swat on my butt.

"Wimp," I mumbled as I frowned at the sting my butt was now suffering from. "No more pinches for you tonight," I added.

"What was that?" he asked me as he propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at me. The moon was shining right into the window and I could see him clearly.

I made a face at him. "You heard me," I told him with a little smirk.

"Yeah I did," he said. "And that's the problem. Let's see if I can change your mind about no more pinching," he added. For a moment I thought I was really in trouble, but this time Dean's method of changing my mind was very pleasant, and none of my usual worries tormented me that night.

But the morning light brought my worries back to me. For days Rivan stayed the same, but Sam didn't experience another snap in temper. He was still as gentle and as patient as ever. A few more days passed and nothing changed, and then out of the blue Rivan got a little better. She started talking again, and she also started to eat a whole piece of toast for breakfast, and ten crackers for lunch instead of five. I know that sounds funny and not very encouraging, but considering how bad off she'd been, it was great just to see little positive changes. Then one evening Sam actually got her to fall asleep not long after getting her in the bed, and she stayed asleep when he quietly left the room. He had never been able to do that since the battle with James.

"That's a good sign," Dean said. He was standing out in the hall watching, and I was in the other room, curled up in bed. I'd been there for a while and Dean thought I was asleep, and so I heard some interesting things from the brothers as they talked. "And she's talking again," Dean added. "That's a real good sign."

"Yeah," Sam said as he pulled the bedroom door around a little so they wouldn't wake Rivan up. "But she's still not doing as well as she needs to be," he added with a sigh. "She's still feeling guilty over everything that she did, and that's her biggest problem." Sam was quiet for a moment. "I don't think she's going to get over it with simple patience from me," he finally said.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, and I could hear the frown in his voice.

"Well…there are a few things that she needs to help her get over what happened and how she feels about it," Sam told him. "Like I said, I've tried to be as patient and as gentle as anyone could possibly be. That's helped, but it's not all that she needs." Sam took a deep breath. "To be honest, I think at this point what she really needs is a damn good spanking. I know that sounds crazy and a bit mean, but going by some things that she's said to me when it's just been the two of us, that would help take a lot, if not all, of her guilt away."

Dean was quiet for a moment. "So you definitely plan on spanking her?" he finally asked.

"Oh yeah," Sam said, his tone quiet and almost kind of scary. "I'm gonna spank her."

"Hard?" Dean asked. I felt like getting up out of bed and going out there to give him a good kick, but of course I didn't. Hey, I was tired, not stupid.

"As hard as I can without being abusive about it," Sam replied.

Dean took a deep breath as well. "Okay. So when do you want to do it? I'll take Eden out for a while and tell Bobby he needs to go find something to do too."

"It can't happen like that, Dean," Sam said with a sigh. "Not this time."

"Huh? Why not?"

"I don't want to do it here," Sam told him. "I've been thinking about taking her back to Maine and staying in that house for a while."

Dean was very quiet for a few moments. "Are you seriously tellin' me that you want to drive her all the way to Maine just to spank her?" he demanded.

Sam snorted. "No Dean," he growled at his brother. "Don't be stupid. I'm not taking her there just to spank her. I said she needs a lot of things to help make her feel better. I think some time away from this life would do her a lot of good. She needs to relax and enjoy some normal living for a while. She didn't get much of that the last time we were in Maine. We had too many worries for her to really relax. Now everything's over and James is dead. She can actually relax this time."

"Okay fine," Dean said with a loud sigh. "We'll go back to Maine, then."

For a moment Sam didn't reply. "It's just gonna be me and Rivan this time, Dean," he said. "I think it would be better for her if I had some one-on-one time with her. I already had Bobby call the man that owns that house and ask if we can use it again. He didn't get to talk to the man this time though. He's on vacation somewhere in Europe, and Bobby got a hold of his son. He said we were free to stay there as long as we need to. So Rivan and I are gonna leave in a few days."

Dean was so stunned that for a moment he didn't say anything. "Well…how long do you plan on staying there?" he finally asked.

"At least until the new year," Sam answered. It was already the middle of November now. So that meant Sam and Rivan would have more than a month of vacation in Maine.

Dean was thinking along the same lines. "That's a long time, Sam," he told him.

"I know that," Sam said, his tone calm and firm. "It doesn't matter. This is what I think Rivan needs right now. A normal life, even if only for a month. I think it will help a lot."

"Well what the hell are we supposed to do while you're off doing that?" Dean demanded. "What do you think me and Eden are gonna do?"

"Whatever you want to," Sam answered easily. "I'm sure Bobby wouldn't mind at all if you stayed here for the holidays. But if you don't want to do that, go somewhere else. But Rivan and I are going to Maine, and we're gonna stay there until the New Year hits. Maybe even a few days after that. And don't be an ass about it, Dean," he added quickly. "We'll be fine on our own for a while. Please let us do this without having a fit. Rivan needs time to heal. She won't have that time bouncing from one hotel room to another."

"Well then why can't you both stay here and have a vacation?" Dean wanted to know.

"I already told you. I want some one-on-one time with her. I'll never get that here. I'm sorry Dean. This is what I think is best for Rivan. So this is what's going to happen."

"Ooookay," Dean said, drawing the word out in an _I'm-tired-and-won't-win-this-anyway_ voice. "How are you gonna get there?"

"Bobby said I could use that car that we drove when the girls took off with the Impala," Sam replied.

"No," Dean said sharply, taking me by surprise. "I want you to take the Impala. It's got all that crap we put in it for protection. Eden and I will stay here with Bobby, so we won't need it. You and Rivan will need it for the protection while you're driving."

For a moment Sam didn't reply, and then I heard him sigh. "Okay," he said, obviously seeing Dean's logic. "Fine. We'll take the Impala then."

"Good," Dean said, sounding a bit more relaxed about the whole thing. "When are you leavin'? You said in a few days, but when exactly?"

"I don't know," Sam told him. "I want to leave pretty soon, but Rivan's going to have to get in a better eating habit first." Sam sighed again, only this time the sigh was deep and long. "I've tried being patient and gentle with her on that. I've tried begging. None of it's working. Guess I'm gonna have to start being tough with her as far as that goes."

"I'd say so," Dean replied with a snort. "There's times when I think she's just bein' a brat about all that eating business."

"You don't think it has anything to do what she went through?" Sam asked him quietly. "Maybe something James did to her that we just don't know about?"

"We looked into that, Sam," Dean reminded him. "We've asked her an ass load of questions and she's given us the right answers for everything. Answers that indicate that there's nothing wrong. Bobby's been lookin' stuff up and makin' some calls. As far as I can see, there's nothing wrong with her, other than severe stress and tension." Dean was quiet for a moment. "You know, it would be awfully nice if a certain Angel would come around and heal Rivan's wounds, and tell us if there's anything else wrong with her other than shock," he added, and now his tone was dark and dangerous.

Of course I knew he was talking about Cas. Dean was still very mad over the fact that the Angel had not come to help them with the fight in the cemetery, and despite the numerous times Dean had tried to call to him since the fight, Cas still hadn't made an appearance. Dean was not letting this go very easily. Not that I could blame him, really.

"I know," Sam said, sounding tired. "But I don't know what to do about it, Dean. Cas will come around on his own time. He always does." Dean gave a grumbling response to that, and after his grumbles faded Sam spoke again. "Look, I'm tired," he said. "I'm goin' to bed. See you in the morning," he added, and I heard him turn and then open Rivan's bedroom door carefully.

"Sure," Dean said in response. "Night Sammy."

"It's Sam," his younger brother told him, a small hint of amusement in his tone. "And night, Dean." I listened as Sam went into the room and then closed the door quietly. Dean stood there for a moment, and then I heard him grumble again before starting toward our room. He came in silently despite the fact that he was annoyed, and he stayed quiet as he went into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

As he did, I lied there and thought about everything that I'd heard. Though I didn't want to be parted from Rivan for so long, and during the holidays no less, I could see how Sam thought it might be a good idea to take her off for a while. I believed like he did, that it may help her a lot in terms of healing. Plus I think she would enjoy spending time with Sam alone. Well, I have to take that back. I don't think she'd enjoy absolutely every single moment of her time alone with Sam. She still had a terrible spanking to deal with, after all. Though I knew Sam would not hurt her more than necessary, I also knew the spanking he planned on giving her would be the worst one she had ever gotten from him.

Of course I felt bad for my friend as far as that went. I wished I could find some way to convince Sam not to do it. But I knew there was no way I could. I would never be able to find the right words that would give Sam second thoughts about spanking Rivan. He was going to do it no matter what I said or did, and I knew this time Sam was going to do whatever he needed to do in order to get her attention completely. He was going to teach her a very thorough lesson, and it was going to be even worse than the first time he spanked her. And there wasn't a thing I could do about it.

I felt the beginning of tears as that realization hit me, but before I could get too upset over it, Dean chose that moment to come out of the bathroom. I kept my eyes closed as I listened to him cross the room to the bed, and a moment later he crawled in next to me. Carefully he pulled me to him and held me close, and I continued to pretend to be asleep.

There was nothing but silence for a few minutes, and then I felt Dean lean toward me. "I know you're not asleep," he whispered to me, and I jumped about a mile as my eyes flew open. I glared at him and he laughed quietly. "You heard everything Sam and I said, didn't you?" he asked me.

I narrowed my eyes at him but then sighed loudly. "Yes," I muttered. "I heard everything you said," I admitted.

"Brat," he murmured as he leaned down and kissed me. "But I'm gonna tell you something right now," he added, his tone sharp and stern. "You better not tell Rivan anything about what you heard," he warned me. "I mean it, Eden. You let Sam tell her about heading back to Maine. I don't want you running off and 'warning' her about any of it. You understand me, sweetheart?"

I groaned a little and squeezed my eyes shut. "Yes sir," I grumbled as I opened my eyes and pouted up at him. Hey, it wouldn't hurt to use a few of Rivan's tricks, would it?

But Dean wasn't moved by the sight of my pouty lips. "I'm serious, Eden. If you tell her anything and I find out, Rivan won't be the only one with a sore ass. I'll blister you in a heartbeat. Got it?"

Without even trying, my pout got worse, and tears pricked my eyes. "Yes sir," I said again, my tone much softer this time. A few tears escaped from my eyes and traveled down my cheeks, and Dean kissed them away.

"Don't cry," he told me, and now his tone was softer too. "You don't have to worry about gettin' in trouble unless you blab to Rivan. Okay?"

I nodded. "Okay," I said in a tiny voice. "I mean, yes sir!" I quickly corrected myself, my eyes wide.

Dean grinned. "That's my girl," he said, and the approval in his tone relaxed me. Minutes later Dean was doing other things that relaxed me even more, and for once, since the battle with James, everything seemed like it was going to be okay, and all of my worries drifted away.

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><p><strong>AN: Well that's it for now! Hope everyone liked it well enough. I have a question for everyone, though. Once again Sam is a little uncertain about whether or not he should spank Rivan. Part of him wants to, but yet another part of him doesn't. I'm kind of on the fence about it as well. So again I seek the opinion of my readers. Do you think he should spank her? Or do you think he shouldn't? If you have a moment and you'd like to, please let me know in a review! I'm interested in seeing what you all think. Again thank you all so very much for your kind reviews and your continued support. Right now I have three more chapters planned before the story is done, so we don't have much left. That's so weird to me. Anyway, enough talk from me. Thank you again for reading, and I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can! And you won't have to wait for a month to read it! Promise! :-)**


	20. Nightmares and Road Trips

**A/N: Hello everyone. I know it's be quite a while since you've heard anything from me. I do apologize for that. The past two months have been very hard for me. I'm sure you all remember me mentioning my father's illness. In December he got very bad, and I spent most of my time helping my mother care for him. As a result I didn't have a whole lot of time for writing, but that was okay because my dad needed me.**

**You know, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I was going to say here in my author's note when the time came. I never came up with anything that sounded good, so I'm just going to do my best. After fighting his illness and struggling so much, my father passed away on January 17th, early in the morning. As you can imagine this has left me devastated. I never knew anything could hurt so badly. I knew I would miss him, but I never imagined this kind of pain. I can't even begin to describe it, nor do I want to. I'm so lost. My mother is as well, and we're doing our best to comfort each other.**

**As for my writing, I'm hoping I can get back into it more, because it's one of my few real escapes. It always has been, and now I need it more than ever. But despite that, right now I can't promise you quick updates anymore. I can't promise you that you won't have to wait a month for the next chapter. I don't plan on abandoning the story, but I just don't know how fast I'll be able to get the last few chapters up.**

**So, finally here is chapter twenty. It pretty much picks up where the other one left off, and I hope you all enjoy it. As always, please forgive any mistakes you may find. Thank you for your comments on the last chapter. Like always, I appreciate it very much. So here we go, and happy reading! :-)**

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><p>"<em>It doesn't matter that I'm gone, you know." Shuddering, I stood there in the middle of a dark forest and stared at the man before me. No, not a man. A vampire. James. It was James, and he was standing there smiling down at me like someone who knew a disturbing secret.<em>

"_I may no longer be around to pursue you, but it matters not," he continued as he watched me. I was frozen in place, unable to move. "There are others who are just as interested in you as I once was," he told me._

_I glared at him as I stood there, trembling. "What are you talking about?" I demanded shrilly. "Who are these 'others' that you're talking about?"_

_James laughed at me, a ghostly, chilling sound. "If I told you, it would ruin the surprise!" he responded._

_Rage surged through me. "TELL ME!" I screamed at him. But James just threw his head back and laughed like a mad man. Then quite suddenly he stopped, and I watched in horror as his skin began to slide right off of him. It fell off in huge patches, as though it was made of thin, brittle paper._

_Still unable to move, I watched as the last bit of skin fell to the ground. At the last minute a black mist formed around James as he shed his skin, and then suddenly it was gone. Not wanting to look but unable to fight it, I watched, wondering where James had gone. At first I saw nothing, and then a huge, pitch black raven sat there on the ground where James had been standing._

_The bird had huge, ugly red eyes, and when it caught sight of me it cawed loudly, causing me to cringe. It let out another squawk, which sounded more like laughter this time, and I shouted at it. _

"_Go away!" I ordered it. "Get out of here! Leave me alone!" The raven cocked its head at me and just stared for a moment, and then it suddenly took flight. But it didn't get very high up before the black mist appeared again, surrounding the bird as it had surrounded James. I stared up at the small cloud of mist, and it seemed like I heard a strange cracking, crunching sound within it._

_Just when I was about to scream again the mist disappeared, and now there was a different creature on the ground where the raven had been moments ago. Of all things it was a raccoon, and it was the biggest and meanest one I had ever seen. Like the raven, it too had red eyes._ _As I stared at it, the critter suddenly sat up on its haunches and growled at me. My eyes went wide and then the thing hissed at me, loud and hard._

"_Leave me alone!" I screamed at it, and it snarled and started toward me, slowly. I howled in shock and fear, and suddenly I found I could move. Without any hesitation I turned and hauled butt. I tore through the dark forest, and the branches of trees seemed to reach out of their own accord, trying to grab me. Behind me, I could hear the snarling and the growling of the raccoon as it gave chase, and I wailed and picked up speed._

"_There is no point in running, my dear," A voice suddenly echoed around the forest, and I recognized it as James' voice. "You cannot run fast enough nor far enough to evade them. They're watching you. They will always be watching you. You're special, you see. You hold the key to everything, and they all want you. You can never be free."_

_I screamed defiantly at those words, and I kept running. Ahead I could see a light, and I focused on it as I ran. As I drew closer to the light, I came to realize that it was shining down on someone. A tall figure was standing there, and of course I knew who it was._

"_SAM!" I screamed out desperately as I ran. He had his back to me but when I called out he turned, and when he saw me that wonderful smile of his spread across his handsome face, and he took a step toward me, his arms held out toward me. "Something's chasing me!" I sobbed out as I continued to run. Sam frowned at my words, and suddenly something heavy struck my lower back._

_I cried out as I hit the forest floor, and I wailed when I felt four sets of claws dig into my back. "Get off of me!" I screamed as I tried to roll over. But the creature was too heavy, and it had me pinned down good. "SAM, HELP!" I sobbed out as sharp claws shredded my skin. "SAM, HELP ME, PLEASE!" Seconds later the terrible weight on my back was gone and Sam was gently turning me over. The raccoon was gone. Where, I had no idea, and I didn't care._

_I felt Sam's hand on my cheek, and I lifted my own hand and placed it over his as I opened my eyes. I looked up at Sam, eager to see his comforting, loving look, but the moment my eyes met his, I started screaming so loud and hard I was sure I would burst blood vessels._

_Sam stared down at me as I screamed, unmoved by my fear and agony. His eyes were the same terrible red of the raven and the raccoon. He smiled down at me, a cold, cruel smile, and I screamed and screamed…_

I awoke with a jerk as my screams echoed through my head, and with a tiny wail I rolled out of bed. As soon as I was on my feet I turned and looked back at the bed, hoping to see Sam there. He had slept with me last night, just like he had been for the past several nights. But he was not there, and a quick glance told me he was not in the bathroom.

I shuddered as I stood there, breathing in deeply. This was not the first time I'd had such a dream. Or nightmare, to be correct. In fact, it was the exact same one I'd been having since the night of the battle against James. It was always the same thing, over and over again. Nothing changed. Every night, the same nightmare would come to torment me. I never told Sam about it. He knew I was having bad dreams, but every time he asked if I wanted to talk about it, I said no. He never pushed me about it, bless him. All I wanted him to do was hold me and keep me safe.

Many times after the nightmare I would just stare into Sam's eyes, praying I would see no trace of red. Of course I never did. It was just a nightmare, after all. It wasn't real. None of it could come true, right? I'd been through hell and it was just my mind's way of coping. A very odd way of coping, I have to admit, but the mind was an odd and complex thing. It was nothing more than a bad dream, and not worth mentioning to anyone.

I had already decided on that days ago when the nightmare started. Everyone was already worried about me. I didn't need to add another reason to freak everyone out. As I had decided in the early morning light after the battle, I didn't deserve anyone's concern. Nothing had changed. I still didn't deserve it. Shivering, I looked back down at the empty bed. This was the first time since Sam started sleeping with me all night that I had woken up alone. It bothered me a lot to find him gone, but not to the extent it would have just days ago. I was a bit better about being separated from Sam, as long as he didn't go too far, and as long as the separation didn't last very long.

At that moment, the separation was lasting too long, and I could feel the panic bubbling up in me. Where had he gone, and why did he leave without waking me? For a moment I considered running downstairs dressed in my pajamas with my hair sticking out to search for Sam, but I forced myself to take a deep breath and calm down. Nothing was wrong. He was probably just downstairs in the kitchen, drinking coffee and arguing with Dean over something stupid. That was all. _Just chill out. _I ordered myself.

I took a few more deep breaths and it seemed to help. Okay, now that I was at least calm, there was no reason why I couldn't take the fastest shower in history. So after grabbing a fresh set of clothes I did just that, and fifteen minutes later I was bounding down the stairs. My eyes swept the living room as I practically ran down the steps, searching for Sam, while my ears stayed on alert, eager to hear his deep, familiar voice.

But I neither saw him nor heard him, but I did hear two other voices I knew well coming from the kitchen. I entered it to find Eden sitting at the table while Dean was at the stove frying bacon. They both turned when I came in and Eden's face lit up.

"Rivvie!" she cried out as she pushed out the chair next to her. I forced myself to smile and I moved quickly to the chair. I sat down next to her, holding onto that smile. It still blew my mind that she could continue to like me and care about me after what I'd done. But I wasn't going to allow any confusion or fear to show up in my face. Like I said, I didn't deserve anyone's pity or concern, so I better not give them any more reasons to feel that way toward me. I had done enough of that over the last week.

"How are you feeling?" Eden asked me as I sat there. "You look like you feel better. You're nowhere near as pale as you have been," she said this all in a rush as she eyed me intently.

"I feel better this morning," I assured her with a smile. I glanced at Dean. "Where's Sam?" I asked him. I couldn't help it. I just had to ask.

"He had to go out and run some errands," Dean told me as he poked at the sizzling bacon he had piled in the pan. "He should be back soon," he added before I could ask. "Oh yeah, he left orders for you," he told me before I could start worrying about why Sam had left.

I made a face. "Orders? What kind of orders?" I asked as Eden sighed deeply and shook her head at Dean.

"He said to tell you that while he was gone you better eat some breakfast," Dean said as he paused in watching the bacon so he could turn intense eyes on me.

I sighed quietly. There was one of the many things I had done to make everyone freak out. I had pretty much stopped eating, and I knew Sam was starting to worry about that more and more. I would have to see if I could do better about that too. Though I had a feeling it would be the hardest thing to get over. I couldn't help it. I just wasn't that hungry. And this morning I really didn't feel hungry.

"And when I say he left orders for you to eat breakfast, he meant eat breakfast," Dean continued. "Not just a piece of toast. He said he wants you to eat a real breakfast. He also said to tell you that if he comes back and finds out that you didn't eat anything he's going to paddle your little butt," Dean added as he narrowed his eyes at me. My own eyes went wide, but Eden spoke up quickly.

"Dean!" she cried out, and I glanced at her. "He did not say that! He just said to see if we can get her to eat something besides a piece of toast! Why did you have to go make it sound worse than it is?"

"Because that's what he should have said!" Dean growled at her. "You've barely eaten anything in days," he said to me. "Sam's worrying himself sick over you. So you better eat something this morning!"

"I'm not hungry," I told him in a small voice. Usually I would have snarled something smart back at him but I found that I was still a little sensitive. "And anyway I don't like the way you fry bacon," I added, trying for a little sass just to make myself feel more like the old me. "Your bacon is always black and crumbles when I try to pick it up."

Eden snorted and then covered her mouth in a poor attempt at hiding her amusement while Dean stood there and stared at me. "My bacon is never black!" he finally snapped. The last word was hardly out of his mouth when suddenly white smoke began shooting up toward the ceiling from the pan, and Dean swore and turned the fire off quickly. I started to laugh and Eden abandoned her attempt not to and joined in with me as we watched an annoyed Dean dump the ruined bacon in the trash can. He shot me a dark look as he pulled a new pack of bacon out of the refrigerator. He said nothing as he tore the package open and started filling the pan with bacon slices.

Still giggling, Eden got up and went over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind. "Don't be mad," she told him, the laughter in her voice obvious. "So you suck at frying bacon. So what. I still love you."

"I do not suck at frying bacon!" Dean informed her, but he didn't sound quite so mad now. "I love bacon. Bacon is what makes a cheeseburger worth eating. I would never deliberately ruin bacon," he added as he set the fire low under the pan and turned to grab Eden in a hug. She gave a little shriek and giggled, and I watched as Dean leaned down and kissed her.

At times Dean could be a scary person to deal with, but it was times like this when I saw the gentle, loving person that he was. I was glad Eden had found him. She deserved a good man, and Dean Winchester was a good man. Even if he did make me mad every now and then.

Dean kissed Eden a few more times as I watched, and then he looked up at me. As soon as my eyes met his, I clearly recognized the stern look he was suddenly wearing. It was the exact same look Sam often gave me. But Dean's stern look didn't quite have the same effect that Sam's did. Not on me anyway. Dean could talk loud and threaten all he wanted to, but I knew he really couldn't do anything to me. Sam didn't want Dean spanking me and he had made that clear on more than one occasion. If there was punishment to be dished out where I was concerned Sam would take care of it. Plain and simple.

But Dean still liked to try to boss me around. It was in his nature to be bossy. I guess he couldn't help it. "You're gonna eat something besides toast this morning," he told me firmly as Eden turned in his arms and looked at me. "I'm gonna fry eggs too. You can eat that if you don't want any bacon."

"I don't like fried eggs," I told him as I made a face at him.

"Then I'll scramble 'em."

I sighed loudly. "No, I don't want any eggs at all," I said with a pout. "I'm _not_ hungry."

"Dean, if she's not hungry you shouldn't force her to eat," Eden spoke up.

Dean frowned down at her. "You're not helping," he told her as he reached down and gave her a sharp slap on her butt. She let out a little yelp and frowned up at him. "Sam asked us to see if we could get her to eat something," Dean reminded her, showing no remorse over the slap he had given her.

"Well we did try and she's not going to," Eden told him with a huff. "I know how she is. You can't convince her to if she really doesn't want to."

"Yeah well, someone needs to," Dean snapped as he let Eden go and turned back to the pan. Eden made a face at him and stuck her tongue out at the back of his head. "And don't stick your tongue out at me, sweetheart," he warned her as he stayed focused on the bacon.

Eden blinked and her mouth fell open a little. She stood there for a moment and then with another little huff she came back to the table and sat next to me. I grinned at her and she made a face and shook her head, but the look she gave Dean was one full of love.

Eden and I talked as Dean finished frying the bacon, and this time it wasn't black, and we continued to talk as he fried the eggs next. Though I was calm on the outside, inside I was a mess. I didn't like the fact that Sam was nowhere in the house. Why had he left without me? And what did he need to go do that was so important that he would leave me at all, even for a little while? And how long had he been gone? I wanted him home right now. But the minutes ticked by and he didn't show up.

To keep myself distracted I sat at the table and talked to Dean and Eden while they ate. I didn't eat anything, not even my usual piece of toast. Dean frowned at me a lot during breakfast, and Eden shot me many worried looks, which of course only made me feel worse. But I did my best to hide that, and I stayed cheerful as I helped them clean the kitchen up. Just as we got done I heard the front door open and then I heard Sam's voice as he called out to his brother. My heart nearly jumped into my throat and I went tearing out of the kitchen and into the living room. As I rounded the corner Sam was just putting his keys into his pocket, and he turned at the sound of my approach. When he saw me he smiled that wonderful smile of his, the rare one that reached his eyes and lit them up the way fireworks light up the sky.

"Sam!" I cried out as I ran. When I reached him I jumped right into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. He caught me easily and held me close, and I kissed him. "Where have you been?" I asked as I pulled back to look at him. "Why did you leave without me?" I added before he could reply to the first question.

"You were asleep, baby," he told me as he gazed down at me. "I was gonna wake you up and see if you wanted to go with me, but I know you haven't been sleeping well these past few nights. I wanted you to rest while you could. How are you feeling this morning?" he asked before I could say anything.

I shrugged. "Better," I said simply.

"Good. You look better. Did you eat any breakfast?"

I wrinkled my nose at him and then kissed him again. "I am right now," I told him as I deepened the kiss. I did that for a few moments and then I pulled back a little and started dropping kisses along his jaw line. "I'm having breakfast, lunch, and dinner," I told him as I kissed him. "And most importantly, dessert," I added as I reached up and nipped at his earlobe gently. I was delighted when he gave a little shiver and then I squeaked in surprise when he suddenly pinched my butt. I pulled back and looked up at him with a pout, and he grinned down at me.

"While I have to admit that those versions of meals are nice, you didn't answer my question," he told me, and I made a face at him. Why did he have to be so stubborn? Irritating man. He continued to smile at me as I gave him a sulky look. "So," he drawled out in a lazy way as he moved further into the living room. "Did you eat breakfast?"

"No, she did not," Dean suddenly said as he came into the living room with Eden right behind him. "Both Eden and I tried to get her to, but she wouldn't eat a thing. And then the little brat got sassy with me and insulted my bacon frying skills," he added as he frowned at me.

"Oh really?" Sam said as he raised both eyebrows at me, still grinning. I blushed and became interested in a button on his shirt. Though he was smiling at me I could see in his eyes that he wasn't very happy with me. Not completely mad, but more so disappointed, and paired with the disappointment was the Winchester determination to fix the reason why he wasn't happy.

"Yeah, really," Dean growled at his younger brother.

"Well if she got sassy and had the nerve to insult your "expert" bacon frying skills, I'd say she's feeling much, much better," Sam said as he slid one big hand over my behind. It was at that moment that I realized how vulnerable I had left my backside. I couldn't even cover it to protect it from a slap, or a pinch as I had found out minutes ago.

Dean snorted. "Yeah, she's feelin' better," he said dryly. "I'd say well enough to get her butt blistered, even. Ouch! Eden!" he suddenly cried out as he looked down at my friend, who was standing beside him looking up at him with big eyes. "Did you seriously just _bite _me?" Dean demanded, and I hid my face against Sam's shoulder to cover my smile.

"Of course I did," she told him bluntly. "You're being mean."

"I'm not being mean. I'm being honest. Hey, don't you bite me again!" he yelped, and I looked up to see him actually take a few steps away from her.

Eden rolled her eyes. "Big baby," she muttered.

Dean eyed her. "You know, maybe Rivan's not the only one who needs a blistered butt," he said as he reached out and caught Eden's hand. "You goin' upstairs any time soon, Sam?" he asked as he started toward the stairs, tugging Eden along behind him. She looked back at me with wide eyes, and I watched with a frown.

Sam laughed softly. "Nope. Rivan and I are gonna have a little talk in the kitchen." I blinked. A little talk? That didn't sound very fun. Blah.

"Okay, talk to you later," Dean said as he started up the stairs with Eden behind him.

"Hey, where's Bobby?" Sam called after him.

"Don't know," Dean answered back. "Said he had things to do and said he'd be gone most of the day."

"Okay," Sam replied easily as he started toward the kitchen with me still in his arms.

"Sam," I half whined at him as we entered the kitchen. "Why is Dean going to spank Eden? She really didn't do anything that bad."

"I don't think he is," Sam assured me as he moved over to the table. Using his foot he pulled a chair out and then leaned down. "Let go, baby," he told me as he patted my butt. Reluctantly I did and he put me in the chair. Once I was settled he straightened and looked down at me. He studied me intently, causing me to blush.

"You really do look better," he said as he reached down and stroked my cheek with the back of his fingers. "You feel okay? Do you feel strange at all?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't feel strange at all," I told him. "I feel pretty good, actually."

"You're not in any kind of pain?"

I shook my head again. "Nope."

Sam grinned down at me. "Good," he said, and then turned toward the refrigerator.

"Sam, how do you know Dean won't spank Eden?" I asked as I watched him open the fridge and rummage through it.

"Because I just know he won't," he told me as he pulled out a few packages from the fridge. It looked like wrapped lunch meat. "He just went upstairs because he knew I wanted to talk to you in here _**while you eat**_," he said, putting a bit of pressure on the last three words.

I sighed. "Sam, I'm not hungry," I told him as I watched him go to the counter and set out things to make sandwiches. "Really I'm not. I'll eat something at dinner," I added, figuring that promise would appease him.

It didn't. "No, you'll eat something for lunch," he said firmly.

"But it's not even noon!" I protested. "It's too early for lunch."

"It's not too early for people who didn't even eat breakfast," he said calmly. "Now what kind of sandwich do you want?" he asked, his tone still firm.

"None," I said just as firmly.

"That option is not on the menu," Sam said as he turned to face me. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the counter. "You are going to eat at least one sandwich, Rivan," he told me, and he had that look that clearly said he was determined to win this fight. "The only thing you ate all day yesterday was a half a piece of toast and some crackers for lunch. You've been doing this for days. You can't keep doing it, baby," he added, his tone going a little soft. "You _have_ to eat something. And you're going to start with a sandwich. So I'll ask again. What kind do you want?"

For a moment I said nothing as we stared at each other, and after a few more moments he stared me down, like he usually did. "Cheese," I half snapped out as I looked down at my hands.

"Cheese and turkey? Sounds great!" he said in an annoyingly cheerful voice. I looked up sharply as he turned and started to make my sandwich.

"No, not turkey!" I whined at him. "I just want cheese, Sam!"

"That's not enough for someone who hasn't eaten much in the last few days," he told me as he opened the package of turkey slices. "You want mustard and mayo?" he asked next as he got out a butter knife.

I gritted my teeth. "Just mayo," I told him, wishing I could get up and bite him the way Eden had bitten Dean. Only harder.

"Okay," Sam said as he started to spread the mayo on a piece of bread. "And don't use that sulky, bratty tone with me," he added as he slapped on way too many pieces of turkey on top of the mayo. "That kind of tone tells me that what you need after your sandwich is a sore butt." He paused and turned to look at me. "Is that what you need right now, Rivan?" he asked quietly, all the lightness and cheer completely gone from his voice. Now he was the stern and strict Sam that meant nothing but business.

I stared at him in shocked surprise as hurt feelings crept up on me. I was not used to the stern Sam. For the last week all I had seen was the gentle, patient Sam who had handled me with soft touches and whispered words. But I guess the time for gentle handling was over. Now he was standing there watching me with intense eyes as he waited for an answer. And the tone he had used when asking his question was the kind of tone that called for a respectful answer.

So I was smart and gave him one. "No sir," I said in a soft voice as I focused on the edge of the little rug that was under the table. Tears blurred my vision, and I swallowed hard.

"Good," Sam said, still speaking quietly as he turned back to the counter. Neither one of us said anything as he finished making my sandwich. Once he was done he got down a small plate and put the sandwich on it, and then brought it over to the table and placed it in front of me. I gave it a miserable look but stayed quiet, even when Sam dropped a kiss on the top of my head before going back to the counter.

He made a sandwich for himself and then started to get drinks for both of us. "I just want water," I told him when he pulled out a can of diet coke. Without a word he put the can back and got out a bottle of water instead, and after a moment he pulled out another one for himself. He carried them over to the table and placed one beside my plate and the other next to his own plate. He got us napkins and then he sat down next to me. We said a quick prayer and then we started to eat. Or he did, actually.

While he ate I picked at my sandwich, and I spent several minutes carefully pulling the crust off and tossing it aside on my plate. Sam watched me for a few minutes, then took a drink of his water and cleared his throat as he put the bottle back on the table. "Rivan, please eat your sandwich," he told me quietly before taking another bite of his.

I sighed very loudly and dramatically as I eyed the sandwich on my plate. I honestly don't know why I wasn't interested in food. It had just been that way for days now. It's not that I got sick when I ate. I just did not want to eat much of anything. So I just sat there and poked at the sandwich for a few minutes until I heard Sam sigh.

"Rivan," he said, and the warning in his tone was loud and clear. That warning was intense enough to make me shiver, and with a little groan I picked up the stupid sandwich and took a very small bite of it. I chewed slowly and carefully and swallowed before taking another small bite. Sam didn't say anything and I continued to eat that way as he finished his sandwich and then got up to put his plate in the dishwasher. He came back and sat down beside me and we were quiet for a few minutes.

"What was it that you wanted to talk about?" I asked, hoping to get his mind off me and the sandwich. Sam frowned, urging me to add, "You said you wanted to talk to me."

"Oh, yeah I did," he said as he studied his bottle of water. He did that in silence for a moment as I watched him. I was no longer eating my sandwich but he didn't seem to notice. "Well," he finally said after another few moments of silence. "I talked to Bobby the other day, and I asked him if the house in Maine was still empty. I think we should stay there for a while, and I wanted to make sure the man who owns it will let us use it again."

I blinked in surprise. "Oh," I said after a moment. "Did you tell Dean about this?"

"Yes," Sam said as he looked over at me. "But Dean and Eden won't be coming with us. It'll just be me and you."

I stared at him. "Why?" I asked, and for some reason my heart started to pound.

Sam smiled at me. "What, you don't want to go on vacation with me?"

I frowned. "Well…it depends on what we're going to do while we're on this vacation," I said softly as I looked at him. Yeah, I could feel it. I was getting close to the point where Sam would stop babying me and start laying down the law. He had shown signs of it just a few minutes ago.

He had switched on the stern mode and was forcing me to eat when before he hadn't. He had talked sharply to me and had given me that shiver inducing look of his. Those were all big signs that the time for my spanking was coming fast. And apparently it was going to be so bad that he not only wanted to be completely alone with me when it was time, but in a different state as well. Great.

I could tell Sam knew I realized this. "You know it's not going to be all good," he told me quietly. "You know there's a lot of things that we need to talk about. It wouldn't be a good idea to try to do it here," he added after a moment. "Too many people, too many problems. I want it to be just you and me for a while. But not just for that. I think you need some time away from this life. I want you to live normally for a while. Dean and Eden will be okay here. Bobby's looking forward to having them for the holidays."

"But I just think we need to be somewhere alone. I want some one-on-one time with you. We just can't get that here, and I think it would be good for you if you had that." He was quiet for a moment. "We need a little vacation, don't you think?" he asked as he studied me.

I stared at him for a moment and then looked down at my sandwich. The idea of running off with him, just the two of us, and staying in the house at Maine was nice. I had to admit that. We could live normally for a while, as he put it. But of course I was not thrilled about the whole "we have a lot to talk about" situation. But I couldn't avoid it. I knew it was going to happen eventually. I knew there was no way on God's green earth that I was going to get away with what I did without getting a terrible spanking.

I definitely knew that, and I knew there was no point in trying to argue with him. Though he was asking me for my opinion, I knew he had already made up his mind. We were going to Maine, and that was all there was to it. I was in so much trouble, and I knew it would be very stupid to try to fight him on this.

So I didn't. "When are we leaving?" I asked him as I kept my eyes on my sandwich.

Sam was quiet for a moment, and I could sense his surprise at my lack of argument. "Tomorrow morning," he answered.

I couldn't help but look up at him then in shock. I was not expecting to leave so soon. "Do we really have to leave that soon?" I asked him.

"Yes," he replied without hesitation. "We have a long drive and I want to start out as soon as possible. So you'll need to start packing today."

I flinched. "Does Dean know we're leaving so soon?"

"Yes."

"And he's not mad?"

"He's not real thrilled about it, but it doesn't matter," Sam told me. "This is what I feel is right, so this is what we're going to do."

I was quiet for a moment. "How are we going to get there? Does Bobby have a car we can use?"

Sam shook his head. "We're taking the Impala," he told me. "It has all those wards and protective symbols Dean and I put in it. Dean said he'd feel better if we had it. I agree with him, so that's what we're going to do."

"Oh," I said softly as I looked back down at my sandwich, several thoughts flying through my mind.

Sam was silent for a moment, and then he spoke. "I don't think Eden knows that we're leaving," he told me. "If she does, she hasn't said anything to me about it. So you'll have to tell her sometime today," he added.

I came out of my chair then rather abruptly. "Fine," I said. "Okay, I will while I pack."

For a moment Sam looked at me in surprise, and then he narrowed his eyes. "Rivan," he said, and his tone was so sharp I jumped. "You have plenty of time to do that. Right now I want you to sit back down and finish your sandwich. You haven't even eaten half of it, and we've been sitting here for almost an hour."

"I don't want anymore," I told him as a surge of defiance filled me. Darn it, I had thought he forgot about the stupid sandwich.

"Rivan," Sam said again, and this time his voice had a chilling warning to it. "Sit. Down. _Now_."

I stood there and stared at him for only a moment before I slowly sank back into my chair. Then with a loud huff I crossed my arms over my chest and pouted at the gross sandwich, and I'm sure I looked just like a naughty child sitting there pouting over the fact that I had not gotten my way. I couldn't help it. I wasn't used to Sam being this forceful about making me eat.

Sam didn't say a word as he got up and went over to the counter. He cleaned up the mess he had made, putting the mustard and mayonnaise back into the refrigerator along with the cheese and turkey. He wiped down the counter, rinsed the sink out, and then poked around at something else while I sat there in my chair with my back to him. I stared at what had become the evil sandwich and refused to touch it as I fought back tears of anger and frustration.

Then, as I was sitting there pouting and being difficult, I suddenly heard Sam come up behind me. I didn't move and for a moment he didn't either. Then he leaned down and placed a hand on either side of me, his palms flat on the table, trapping me between his strong arms. He stayed completely still for a few moments and then he lifted one hand. Gently he gathered my hair and moved it to where it was all hanging down on my left side, covering that side of my neck and face.

Once he had that done he put his hand back on the table and left it there. Then he leaned down a little further until his lips were right next to my ear. I could feel the heat of his skin on my bare neck and my cheek, and I held perfectly still because I knew he was pissed and I didn't know what he was going to do next. For a moment nothing happened, and then suddenly he spoke, causing me to jump.

"Rivan," he said softly in my ear, and his breath tickled as he spoke. "I am going to be very, very clear with you," he continued, his deep voice coming out slow and measured. "You are not leaving this table until you eat every last bite of that sandwich. I am going to sit here with you. If that sandwich is not gone in thirty minutes, I am going to take you out of that chair, bend you over the table, and spank you on your bare butt with one of those wooden spoons right there," he told me, pointing at a can in the middle of the table. Several wooden spoons were sticking out of it, and they all looked big and thick. "Then when I'm done you're going to sit back down and you're going to eat that sandwich."

He fell silent for several seconds and during that time I sat there and listened to my heart as it raced in my chest. Sam moved slightly, bringing his mouth even closer to my ear. "Have I made myself perfectly clear?" he asked me, his tone quiet and more intense than an atom bomb.

I had to swallow about a dozen times before I could give him an answer he would understand. "Yes sir," I whispered as the tears in my eyes suddenly spilled over and started down my cheeks.

For a moment Sam said nothing, and he did not move. Then finally he spoke. "Good," he said as he pushed himself away from the table. I sat there frozen to the spot as I waited, expecting him to sit down next to me as promised. But he didn't, and when I finally got brave enough to look behind me, I saw I was alone in the kitchen.

But that didn't last long. A few minutes later Sam came back with his laptop. Without even looking at me he sat down next to me and put it on the table and then opened it. I kept my eyes on the sandwich as I listened to the laptop come to life. It rang out a little chime as it prepared to start, and Sam typed in his password. The machine let out a little jingle of acceptance and then Sam started clicking away on the mouse.

"Thirty minutes, Rivan," he told me without looking up. And that's the way it went after that. Sam sat there and fiddled on his laptop while I sat there and stared at the sandwich that had become a bigger problem than any sandwich in history. I vowed after this I would never eat another turkey and cheese sandwich again.

The minutes ticked by. Sam typed a lot on the laptop, and then there were long minutes when he remained still as he read something he had pulled up on the Internet. I did nothing but sit there and stare at the food before me. Nothing changed as I sat there, and I wondered how much time had gone by.

Just a few seconds after I thought this Sam suddenly leaned around his laptop and reached out toward the can sitting in the middle of the table. I looked up and watched with huge eyes as he selected the biggest, thickest wooden spoon in the group and pulled it out of the can. My heart started to do a frantic dance. Was my time up already? I continued to watch Sam as tears filled my eyes again, but thankfully he placed the spoon next to the laptop and started typing again.

"You have ten minutes left, Rivan," he told me calmly, never taking his eyes off of the screen before him. I said nothing as I sat there and stared at him. After a moment he glanced at me. Then he pointed at the wooden spoon. "If I have to use that I'm going to give you one for every minute you sat there and disobeyed me." I felt my eyes widen even further as I stared at him. He stared right back, and I could see very clearly that he meant every word.

"Eight minutes," he said quietly as he watched me. I blinked and looked away from his intense gaze and looked back down at my sandwich. I drew in a deep, shuddering breath and then I picked the sandwich up. Tears started to roll down my face again as I sat there and ate that dumb sandwich. Sam watched me, which made me very self conscious. I think he picked up on that because he turned back to his laptop after a moment.

By the time I was done with the sandwich I was nearly sobbing. I took a shaky drink of my water and then put it back on the table, and my crying got worse. Without a word Sam pushed his chair away from the table just a little and then reached out and took my hand. He pulled me out of the chair gently and then guided me toward him. As soon as I was close enough he pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me.

"You're so stubborn, Rivan," Sam told me as he began to rub my back. "I don't know why you have to make things so difficult the way you do. None of that was necessary. All you had to do was eat that sandwich. I really ought to give you a spanking just for being that stubborn."

"Nooo," I moaned into his chest as I clung to him. "Nooo, please. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I clung tighter to him and cried as he held me.

Sam sighed. "I just don't understand why you stopped eating," he told me as his hand rubbed soothing circles into my back. "You aren't feeling bad, right?"

"No sir," I moaned out as I cried.

"Then why, baby? I know you didn't do it because you wanted attention. I've been giving you plenty of that over the last week. Haven't I?"

"Yes sir," I half wailed. Of course he had. I had never had such wonderful, loving attention in all my life.

"Then tell me why, Rivan. Help me understand. Tell me what's going on inside that pretty head of yours."

I whimpered and shivered in his arms. "I don't know!" I told him, and a pitiful little sob followed my words.

Sam sighed softly. "Okay," he said after a moment. "Okay. We'll talk about it later, when you're not so upset. Shhh, baby. It's okay. Try to calm down for me. Come on now. Shh." He continued to rub my back and talk to me softly for quite a while after that. No one bothered us as we sat there in the kitchen. Finally my tears stopped flowing, and I sat there quietly in his arms. He squeezed me gently and then dropped a kiss on my head.

"You okay now?" he asked me, his voice so tender.

"Yes sir," I whispered as I fiddled with a button on his shirt.

"Okay. Why don't you get up and go start packing. You can talk to Eden and tell her what's going on while you do," he added.

"Yes sir," I said in a tiny voice. I sat up and rubbed at my eyes, and then suddenly Sam caught my chin and forced me to look at him. As soon as our eyes met he kissed me, gently and tenderly. The kiss didn't last long but it was wonderful and warm, and did so much to calm all the madness inside me. We parted and Sam smiled down at me and then patted my back.

"Go start packing," he told me again, and reluctantly I climbed off his lap. I took my empty plate and put it in the dishwasher first, and then with a little sniffle I left the kitchen and started for the stairs.

There was a lot to do and a lot to get ready for. I knew that without a doubt. And I knew I was not going to like some of the things that were going to happen soon. But I also knew there were a lot of things that I _was_ going to like. I had seen that promise in Sam's eyes. He was going to make everything okay. Just like he always did. And I knew as long as he was in my life he would do whatever he could do to make sure everything stayed okay for me.

I held that comforting knowledge close to my heart as I started up the stairs. It was what would get me through. Always.

* * *

><p>With a small sigh I placed my bags on the floor next to Sam's, which were resting next to the front door. I glanced out the window to see that the sun was just beginning to come up. Ice crystals glittered on the battered old cars that filled Bobby's junk yard, and I glanced at the thermometer that had been stuck on a piece of rugged wood, which had been fashioned into a sign and was hanging on the porch. The thermometer read fourteen degrees. Bobby said that was mild for this time of year. As I gazed at the Impala, all I can say is, thank goodness for the heater, even if it did have Legos in it that rattled around when the heater was on. Compliments of Dean when he was a kid. Figures.<p>

I turned away from the car as it rumbled outside in the yard. Sam had already been out there and had cranked the thing up and started the heater, so it would be warm when we got in there to leave. I was glad of that. Though I had my warmest clothes on, I knew this kind of cold would rip through them as though the material was made of gauze.

"Hey," a voice suddenly said, and I looked up to see Eden standing there, watching me. Who knows how long she'd been standing there. She smiled at me when our eyes met, and she rushed forward to hug me. We held onto each other for several moments, and when we parted our eyes were misty and I was trembling.

"You okay?" Eden asked me softly.

"Sure," I said, forcing a smile. "I'm just…kind of nervous about leaving. We won't see each other for a whole month. I haven't been away from you for that long in a while."

Eden took a deep breath. "Yeah," she muttered as she looked down at her fingernails. "I know. I don't look forward to it either, but if this is what's best for you, then it has to be this way, I guess."

I made a face. "Yeah, I guess," I said with a sigh.

Eden gave me an encouraging smile. "It'll be fun!" she insisted. "Just you and Sam, together in that nice house. You two can spend time together, and you'll—"

"Get the worst butt blistering in the history of the world," I interrupted in a gloomy voice.

Eden flinched. While I had been packing yesterday I had learned that Eden already knew about my trip to Maine, though she had begged me not to tell Dean that she had told me. Like I would. But anyway, I had also learned that Sam and Dean had talked a little about the spanking I was going to get, and I know Eden was worried about it. Not that she believed Sam would seriously hurt me. But she knew it was not going to be fun.

"Well, yeah, that's not going to be fun," Eden admitted, echoing my thoughts as she watched me with a worried expression. "But umm, if you want to look on the bright side—"

"Which will be on my butt," I interrupted again.

She flinched again. "Well…technically I guess, but what I was going to say is I'm sure he'll do it not long after you get there, and you can get it over with and then umm, maybe…have…fun. Of some kind," she added lamely. She made a soft noise of frustration, and I sighed and smiled at her. And it was a real smile this time, too.

"Yeah, maybe," I told her. "I'm sorry, I'm not being very nice. But then…I haven't been very nice over the past week, have I?" Before Eden could reply, I threw my arms around her and hugged her tight. "I am so sorry for all of the misery I put you through!" I told her. I felt tears prick my eyes but I fought them back. "I scared you and made you worry so much about me! I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have done that to you! I'm sorry for everything I did!" I told her as I hugged her tight.

"Oh Rivvie!" Eden said as she hugged me back. "You gotta know I'm not mad at you! And yes I was worried about you, but that's because you are my best friend in the whole world! More like a sister! I'm always going to worry about you when you're sad or scared. You do the same thing when I'm sad and scared."

I sniffled a little. "I know," I moaned. "But—"

"But nothing," Eden interrupted me this time. "As far as I'm concerned, you have nothing to be sorry for. You have no reason to torment yourself like you're doing. Try to let it go and forgive yourself, okay? We've all forgiven you, Rivvie. Now it's time to forgive yourself."

I shivered at her words. Forgive myself? Ugh. How could I even begin to try to do that? And I wasn't so sure if everyone had forgiven me. Mainly Sam. He may have taken care of me so patiently and tenderly, but that didn't mean he wasn't mad at me. I didn't think I'd be able to forgive myself until I heard Sam say that he forgave me. And he hadn't said that yet.

As we stood there hugging we suddenly heard footsteps, heavy footsteps, followed by a loud complaint. "I'm tellin' you, Sam!" Dean griped at his brother as they came out of the kitchen. "I can't get it to pop up no matter what I do!"

Eden and I separated, and I smirked at Dean as he and Sam came to stand with us. "So that's why you're always so grouchy!" I said as my smile turned evil. "They make medicine for that, you know," I added sweetly. Everyone went dead silent. Dean was standing there staring at me with that bug eyed look, and I had to fight hard not to laugh.

"Although I think it's pretty expensive," I continued, taking advantage of everyone's shock. "I never thought you'd need it, but since you do, Viagra is popular. But like I said, expensive. You know, one time at one of our many bathroom breaks at a gas station, there was a machine in the women's rest room. It sold condoms of course, and a special little thing called Horny Goat Weed. I think that was like…um, seventy-five cents maybe. I bet you could cough that up if you need your little soldier to march, uh?"

They all were still staring at me in complete shock. "Or if you can't do that, you could always let Eden have a go at it!" I added brightly. That broke the silence, and soon Bobby's entryway was filled with all kinds of remarks from a squeal and a "Oh _Rivvie_!" from Eden, to a loud "RIVAN!" which came from Sam, and a "Smart mouth brat" and "Needs a good spanking" followed by a "I was talkin' about the toaster!" all of which, of course, came from Dean.

Dean was still commenting while Sam gathered up the rest of his bags and mine in one hand, while the other hand caught my arm. "Okay, time to go!" he said loudly so he could be heard over Dean. "If you need anything just call me, Dean!" he added as he let me go so he could pull the front door open. As soon as it was, Sam caught my arm again and we were out the door.

"Oh wait, not yet!" Eden wailed after me. "Sam, bring her back!"

"You said good-bye," I heard Dean growl at her. "Trust me when I say it wouldn't be a good idea for her to come back."

"Ooooh but, oooooh! Rivvie, be careful!" she yelled out to me, giving in to the fact that Sam wasn't going to bring me back.

"I will be!" I yelled back at her, trying to turn back to look at her. I got my head half way turned to where I could at least see her somewhat, and I waved. "Love ya!" I told her.

"Love ya back! I'll call every hour!" she added, and I laughed.

"No, you won't," I heard Dean tell her. "You broke your cell phone, remember?"

"I didn't mean to!" Eden whined at him. "I was mad and scared! I explained what happened! And you said you'd get me a new one!" she reminded him.

"Yeah well, I'm giving that promise a second thought," he replied, and Eden groaned at him, complaining loudly that he was being unfair.

Unfortunately for Dean he annoyed me, and my smile turned evil again. "BYE DEAN!" I bellowed back at him. "Don't forget to look for that HORNY GOAT WEED!" I added, raising my voice even more. About that time Bobby suddenly came around the corner from the back yard, and he stood there and stared at me. I laughed and waved at him. "Dean can't make it pop up!" I explained as Sam drug me along, ordering me to stop. I ignored him. "He said so himself!"

"Well that was a bit more information than I needed to know," Bobby said as he started toward us. In the back ground I could hear Dean yell, "I was talkin' about the _**TOASTER**_!" This was followed by a loud, "I liked her better when she wasn't talkin'!"

Bobby ignored him while I giggled. "Didn't know you two were leavin' today," he said as he looked at Sam.

"Yeah, we've got a ways to go," Sam said as he opened the back door of the Impala. He tossed our bags in and slammed the door, and then he opened the passenger door for me. For a moment I think he was considering tossing me in like he had done with the bags, because I was still talking about horny goat weed. "Rivan, stop that and get your butt in the car!" he said to me, completely exasperated.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Don't get your tighty whities in a bind, darling," I said ever so sweetly. He narrowed his eyes at me, and with a wink I turned and hurried over to Bobby. I threw my arms around him and gave him a good hug, and then stood on my tip toes so I could kiss his cheek. "Bye Bobby," I said softly as I looked up at him. "I'm sorry I was so much trouble," I added. "Thanks for letting me stay."

Of course he was all flustered because of the hug and the kiss, but now he frowned down at me. "You know you're welcome here anytime," he told me gruffly. "My house is always open to you if you need it," he added.

I smiled and gave him another hug. "Thanks Bobby," I told him, and gave him another kiss on his cheek. "I love you," I added as I smiled sweetly at him.

"Ah hell, girl," he grumbled as he gave me an awkward pat on the back. "Get outta here, would ya? It's too cold to be standin' around out here." I laughed and let him go before turning and heading back to Sam. "You behave yourself!" Bobby called after me. "Listen to Sam! And don't go wanderin' off from him either!" he added.

"Yes daddy!" I called back as I waved. I heard him mutter something to that but I was too far away at that point to hear what he'd said. Sam was still standing by the passenger door, which he had closed so the cold air wouldn't chase the heat out of the car, and he had both hands shoved into the pockets of his heaviest coat. As I approached him he shook his head at me, and the expression on his face was one of begrudging amusement and severe exasperation.

"Are you done?" he asked me when I came to a stop in front of him.

"Yep!" I said as I stood on my tip toes again to give him a kiss on the lips. "Don't be mad at me, I was just having a little fun," I added as he gazed down at me with a rather intense look.

He snorted and opened the passenger door for the second time. "Get in, Rivan," he told me with a sigh.

I made a face at him. "I have too many bossy people in my life," I said as I started toward the car. As I got closer I moved both hands behind me, trying to make sure my rear end was covered. Sam had that look on his face, after all. You know, the _I-would-really-love-to-give-her-a-good-smack _kind of look. I figured he was going to be doing a lot of smacking soon anyway, so why let him get one in now? Though of course I knew if Sam really wanted to give me a smack, no amount of covering on my part would save my buns.

"We're not bossy," Sam told me as I moved around him quickly, still covering my butt. I slid into the passenger seat as fast as I could, and Sam leaned in as I buckled my seat belt. "We just care about you and know how crazy you can get," he added. I made another face at him, and he raised one eyebrow at me before closing the door.

As he walked around to the driver side I peered in the direction of the front door. Dean and Eden were still standing there watching, and Dean still looked annoyed. I couldn't help but giggle as I waved at Eden, and she waved back at me like crazy. I was feeling much better than I had been before. Guess all I needed was a good reason to pick on Dean. But when Sam started up the Impala and began to back out, some of my cheer left me quickly. I kept my eyes on Eden as the car moved further away from the house, and then suddenly Sam was turning us around. Seconds later we were facing the street, but I turned to look one last time.

Dean and Eden were already going back into the house, and Bobby was heading in the direction of the garage. The Impala crept out onto the road as I turned back around, and Sam hung a left. Taking a deep breath, I leaned back against the car seat and looked out the window, though there was nothing interesting to see. Winter had sunk its teeth into South Dakota, and the only colors out there came in shades of gray, dark brown, and of course black. Even the houses looked drab and depressed.

But much to my surprise, the dull scenery didn't drag my mood down. As we drove further away from Bobby's house, I found myself thinking longingly of the house in Maine. I really did like it. It was cozy and friendly, and I would be glad to lay eyes on it again. Especially after such a long road trip.

"You warm enough?" Sam suddenly asked me as he reached out to adjust the heater a little, ignoring the Legos rattling around.

"I'm fine," I told him softly, and he glanced at me for a moment before smiling.

"Good," he said just as softly. He turned his eyes back onto the road, and with the ease of a very experienced driver he guided us onto the Interstate. There weren't a lot of cars out on this cold Tuesday, and after a while of gazing at mostly nothing I began to feel sleepy.

I took another deep breath as I leaned my head back against the head rest. As my eyes slid closed I felt Sam's big, strong, hand wrap around my much smaller hand, and I smiled at the warmth his touch brought me. I relaxed as sleep claimed me, and with Sam's warm protection all around me, I knew then that everything would be okay.

* * *

><p><strong>One Week Later:<strong>

With a soft sigh Sam slipped his feet into his shoes and then carefully opened the bathroom door. It was five-thirty in the morning, and he and Rivan were nearing the end of their road trip. They had only a day's worth of driving left before they reached the house in Dedham, and Sam was very, very glad.

Leaving the light on in the bathroom, he stepped around the corner and stood near the end of the bed closest to the bathroom. In the other bed Rivan was fast asleep, lying on her stomach as she slumbered. Sam stood there and watched her as he began to roll up the sleeves of his blue flannel shirt. Though it was terribly cold outside he still rolled his sleeves up. It was just a habit he had developed a long time ago, no matter what the weather was like. And anyway he had a heavy coat he could put on.

As he got one sleeve done and started on the other one, Rivan suddenly shifted in her sleep and moaned a little. Sam frowned and moved closer to her, watching her intensely. She was still having more restless nights than he cared for. He knew she was having bad dreams but she never would talk about it. Sam wished she would but if he pushed her for information even just a little, she got upset, and so he'd stopped trying; at least for now.

With another quiet sigh Sam finished rolling up his other sleeve, and now he stood there with his hands on his hips, watching the sleeping woman before him. She'd been sleeping so well when he'd woken up at four-thirty that he hadn't had the heart to wake her just yet. So he'd let her sleep a little longer while he'd gotten up and started to get ready. The fact that his movements had not woken her was a testament to how tired she was.

Their road trip across eight states had gone pretty good, considering. Rivan was still a little clingy and so had never left Sam's side whenever they got out to fuel up again, or when they stopped at yet another motel. Though Rivan had still seemed a little nervous and needed him to stay close, she had been in a remarkably good mood throughout most of the trip. It had not started out that way, though.

That first day after they'd left Bobby's house, they had driven across the entire state of Iowa. Of course there were bathroom breaks mixed in the journey, as well as refueling requirements. They'd had breakfast before leaving Bobby's house, and for the rest of the day Sam had driven through several different fast food places. Thankfully Rivan didn't mind long distance road trips, but she wasn't as forgiving with fast food joints. At least on this trip.

Sam had ordered small meals for her at her insistence, but she hadn't eaten any of them very well. By the time they'd reached their next rest stop or gas station her food had turned cold and dry, and the first thing she'd do was hop out of the Impala and shove the stuff into the nearest trash can. Throughout the day Sam had tried to reason with her about her eating habits, or lack of, but she'd brush him off and start talking about something else. Since it had been so long since he'd seen her that excited or heard her talk that much, he had to admit that he'd backed off and allowed her to get away without eating enough. He'd loved seeing her so happy that he had been unwilling to be firm with her about her eating.

But sometime during that day he had come to realize he was doing her no favors by letting her get away without eating properly. If he wanted her to heal, she needed to get back to healthy habits, and hardly eating anything all day was not healthy. Sam had made a silent vow to himself that he would get tougher with her about eating.

They hadn't run into that problem again until several hours later, when they had finally come to a stop in Peoria, Illinois. Well populated with locals and tourists who had come to see the many Christmas lights in various parts of the state, Sam knew they'd be covered well enough among the crowds, which, for the most part, would keep them hidden from any supernatural eyes. If there happened to be anyone like that around who meant them harm, Sam had known they would never strike in such a crowded place. As long as they stayed in public view, they'd be okay.

After they'd checked into a cheap motel, Sam and Rivan had gone to the nearest restaurant, which had been recommended by the man at the desk as he'd checked them in. Rivan had given Sam no troubles about ordering something to eat. She'd ordered a chicken strip basket with fries, and Sam had noted that it was an unusual thing for her to order, but had shrugged it off because he'd been happy to see her interested in food.

The place had been packed with locals and tourist alike, as apparently the restaurant was the place to go for very good food at an even better price. As he and Rivan ate, Sam had kept tabs on the people closest to them. He had chosen a table way in the very back, close to the exit door. He'd done that for two reasons. One, so he could get Rivan out of there as quickly as possible if he needed to, and two, so he could see the entire restaurant and all its occupants. He had moved his chair around so he could keep both the front door and their dining neighbors in sight. Sam had learned a long time ago that as a hunter he could never let his guard down, no matter where he was and what he was doing.

Because the place was so packed, the conversational buzz was actually a roar, and with the music blaring over head through built in speakers, the chance that Sam and Rivan would be able to hear each other was slim to none. But they had both been content just to look around and watch people. Of course Sam was doing it for an entirely different reason than Rivan. She was looking because she was a naturally curious person, which at times got her into trouble, while of course Sam was watching for trouble and making sure the people around them were actually folks out to have a good time, and not demons who had snitched meat suites to use them to stalk Sam and Rivan. The demon community had not come out to play in quite a while, but Sam had learned if trouble was going to come their way, it would usually come in the form of a runaway prisoner from Hell. With the vampires out of the game for now, he wouldn't be surprised if the demons were gearing up for a bit of fun of their own special kind.

But anyway, while Sam had been keeping a sharp eye on everyone around him, he had failed to give Rivan enough of his close scrutiny. Throughout the meal, while Sam had been busy looking for a set of pure black eyes among the crowd, Rivan had been busy loading her rather large purse up with chicken strips, topped off by most of her fries. When Sam had finally looked at her he had been surprised to find that all of her chicken strips were gone. She had only left a few fries in the basket.

Sam had been thrilled at her renewed appetite, and after he had paid for the meal and they had left, he had showered her with praise for eating so well, something he had continued to do as they drove back to the motel. Sam had failed to notice how quiet Rivan had gotten as his praises piled up, and by the time they had gotten into their motel room he'd noticed how stressed and nervous she had been. When he had asked her what was wrong, she had looked up at him with her round blue eyes, which had filled with tears, and with her lower lip trembling she had opened her purse and held it out for him to see the contents.

For a very long time Sam had just stood there and stared down at the chicken strips she had tossed in her purse. Along with the fries. Then finally he had slowly looked up at her, and she had cringed away from him, whimpering a little. If he hadn't been so mad, and if he hadn't been worried about how much noise it would have made, he would have tossed her over his knee right then and there and wailed on her butt for about an hour or so. But since he had been so mad and had been afraid he'd hurt her more than he needed to, he had merely taken a very, _very _deep breath, pressed his lips together so he wouldn't start yelling, and had turned and gone into the bathroom. He had stayed in there for almost two hours.

When he'd come back out dressed for bed, for he had dumped all of his bathroom stuff in the bathroom before they'd left to eat, he had found Rivan had changed into her pajamas and was in the bed, curled up into a tight ball under the covers. She'd been lying on her side facing the bathroom, and when Sam had come out her eyes had widened nervously and she had scrunched down further under the covers. For a moment Sam had wondered how she'd gotten ready for bed since he had taken up the bathroom, but then he'd realized in this motel room there had actually been a counter with a sink right outside the bathroom door. When he'd looked he'd noticed that she had brushed her teeth and washed her face at that sink while Sam had camped out in the bathroom until his temper had cooled down. A little.

Because Sam was a firm believer in not going to bed angry, because it really messed up a good night's sleep and he needed his rest to drive the next day, and because Rivan was trembling so badly she was making the entire bed shake while looking like she was about to go into a deep depression, Sam had opted to skip the quiet but intense scolding he'd been planning on giving her. Instead he had crawled in bed next to her and had gathered her in his arms, and while she'd cried softly and apologized over and over, Sam had kissed and soothed her until she'd grown calm enough to fall asleep. Sam had gone to sleep not long after that.

The next morning they'd gotten up very early so they could log in several good hours of driving. They'd both been extremely quiet while they'd gotten ready to go, and once they had checked and double checked the room to make sure they hadn't left anything out while packing, Sam had loaded the Impala up with their bags, turned their key in, and off they'd went. He had gone back to the same restaurant where they'd eaten dinner, or where _he_ had eaten dinner, for he had learned breakfast was served in the mornings there as well.

Sam had ordered them both plates of scrambled eggs with bacon and toast, because he had seen Rivan eyeing the meal that had consisted of sausages rolled in pancake batter and fried. Pig 'n a Poke, as it had been called at a diner Sam and Dean had visited once. For Sam, he had visited it over and over, several times in a row, and the total had added up to one hundred days, thanks to the Trickster. And every single day he'd been forced to watch Dean die in some outrageous way, only to have the same day start over again once Dean was dead. But that was terrible, ancient history, long before Rivan had been placed in their care.

That morning Sam had forced Rivan to skip the meal of Pigs 'n a Poke, because he'd known she wanted them because they'd be easy to hide in her purse. That was why she'd ordered the chicken strips the night before. Much to Rivan's annoyance, Sam had figured that out in time to thwart her at breakfast.

Because she'd been angry with him for figuring out her tactics, she had sat at the table and pouted while refusing to even look at Sam. When the waitress had served their breakfast, Rivan had sat there and glared at her food while Sam ate his. Every now and then Sam had leaned over and ordered her in a low voice to eat, but she had flat out refused. Because they'd been in public there had been very little Sam could do about it. At that moment, that is.

When Sam had finally given up on making Rivan eat, he had paid for the bill and they had left. The silence in the car had been tense and thick, for Rivan hadn't been the only one who was mad. With the stunt she had pulled the night before topped with that morning's disastrous breakfast, Sam had been furious with her. Instead of hopping on the interstate and starting their second day of driving, Sam had driven around until he'd found a quiet street that led to a dead end.

There had been no houses on that street, and Sam had driven down to the dead end, turned the Impala around to face back toward the road, and had put it in park. When he had turned to Rivan she had been staring at him with wide eyes and a look of confusion on her pretty face. But as soon as his angry eyes had met hers a look of dread replaced the confusion. Sam had seen that she was well aware that she was about to get yelled at, and she was not going to like what he had to say.

She hadn't. Not at all. Sam had lit into her in a way he had not done in quite a while. "We are _not_ going to do this, Rivan," he had snarled at her. "I am _not_ going to play this game with you every single time we stop to eat. I've let you get away with it for far too long, and it stops _**right now**_. The next time we stop somewhere to eat, or go through some drive thru, you better order a good meal, and you better eat it! No more hiding your food in your purse, or anywhere else for that matter! By not eating properly, you weaken your body. How do you expect to get better if your body is weak?"

"No more, Rivan!" Sam had raged on, not waiting for an answer to that. "If you don't eat something suitable, an actual meal, every time we stop to eat today, when we stop at our next motel I am going to spank you so hard you'll have to spend the rest of the trip lying down across the back seat! Because tonight won't be the only night I'll tan you! If you refuse to eat even one meal today, or not enough of a meal, so help me I will spank you every single night we stop! If you give me any kind of problem about eating today, that's what I'm going to do!"

Sam had finished his rant in a shout, and by the time he'd stopped Rivan had cringed away from him, pressing herself against the door with tears rolling down her face. Sam had inwardly flinched at the sight, but he had stayed tough and stern in the face of her tears. It had been a very hard thing for him to do, but in the end he'd known it was what was best for her.

"Is that what I need to do here, Rivan?" Sam had demanded of her. "Do I really need to spank you every single time we stop for the day, all the way to Maine? Is that what it's going to take to get you back into a good eating habit?"

She had given a big sniffle in response and had let out a shuddering sigh that had made Sam want to grab her up and kiss her tears away. But he had resisted, and he had stubbornly waited for an answer. After a few seconds she'd glanced over at him, and he'd seen the shock in her eyes. Sam had never threatened to spank her every night for several nights in a row. She had not liked the thought at all.

But she had remained quiet for far too long, and Sam had been forced to snarl at her again. "Answer me, Rivan! Am I really going to have to do that to you?"

She'd flinched at his sharp tone and had quickly looked away. "No sir," she had told him as she'd stared down at her hands.

"Okay, fine. Great. So you're going to eat from now on, every time we stop to eat, right?" Sam had asked next, his tone still stern and unyielding. He knew with Rivan that he couldn't give her an inch in situations like this.

For a moment she'd remained quiet, and then she sniffled again. Sam had known she was fighting back more tears, and he'd hated to leave her sitting there without comfort. "Yes sir," she had whispered.

Sam had sighed quietly. "Good. I really hope you mean that, Rivan. I don't want to bust your butt every night, but you know I'll do it if that's what it takes to make you eat the way you need to." She'd said nothing in response to that, and finally Sam put the car in drive, and off they had gone.

There had been nothing but dead silence in the Impala for the rest of the morning, and part of the early afternoon. By the time they'd stopped for gas they had made it out of Illinois and had been in Indiana for a while. As she'd always done since they'd left South Dakota, Rivan had gotten out to stand with Sam while he'd pumped the gas. She'd not cared for sitting in the car by herself, and every time they had stopped she had gotten out to chatter happily at him while they'd wait for the tank to fill up.

But that day she'd been very quiet as she'd leaned against the Impala to wait, and she hadn't allowed herself to stand right next to him as she had before. Once Sam had gotten the gas nozzle worked into the Impala he had straightened to see Rivan standing there, and she'd looked so lost and dejected that Sam's heart had broken. With a sigh he'd gone to stand beside her, folding his arms and leaning against the Impala. Rivan had said nothing but had not moved, and after a few moments Sam had cleared his throat.

"Hey," he'd said, nudging her softly with his elbow. "You awake?" The only response he'd received had been a tiny nod. Sam had been silent for a few moments. "So you're not gonna talk to me for the rest of the day? Or maybe the rest of the trip?" he'd asked.

Rivan had let out a little shuddering moan, and she'd brought one small hand up to wipe over her eyes. "You're m-m-mad at m-m-me!" she'd sputtered out, sounding completely miserable.

Immediately Sam had reached out and pulled her into a hug, which she'd gladly accepted. She'd snuggled up against him in that way that melted his heart, and he'd dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "No I'm not," he'd said in response to her spoken belief. "I definitely was, but I'm not anymore. I'm just worried about you, baby. Sometimes it seems like you don't even want to get better, and that scares the hell out of me. You do _want _to, don't you?"

"Yes!" she had told him, drawing the word out in a low moan. "But it's hard!"

"I know it is," Sam had told her. "It seems like the whole eating business is the main thing that's holding you back. Why is that?" Rivan had merely shrugged in response while moving closer to him. "That's not a good answer," Sam had told her as he'd given her a squeeze. "What's up with this whole thing of not wanting to eat?" That time she hadn't given him any kind of answer, and Sam had rubbed her arm. "You can't tell me?" he'd asked softly. Still she had remained silent. "Or is it the simple matter of not _wanting_ to tell me?" he'd asked next.

Much to Sam's surprise she'd pulled away from him, let out a rather loud groan of frustration, and then she had stomped her foot a little. Sam'd had to take a moment to be thankful that the gas station was empty, otherwise this scene would have drawn a lot of stares.

"I can't tell _you_ because _**I**_ don't even know why!" Rivan had told him as she'd ran her fingers through her hair, looking very annoyed with herself.

That had taken Sam off guard. "Oh," he'd said after a moment. "Well then…I guess that's a pretty good reason, huh?" Rivan had nodded and mumbled out a pitiful "Yes sir", and then the gas tank had kicked off, signaling that the Impala's tank was now full. Sam had removed the nozzle and had put the lid back in place, and since it had been a station where you had no other option but to pay inside, he and Rivan had gone in the little store to do so, taking a bathroom break and grabbing a few snacks while they'd been in there.

Rivan hadn't eaten any of the snacks Sam had bought, but he hadn't scolded her for that. He knew to save the scoldings for the serious meals. Around two that afternoon Sam had found a Waffle House to stop at, and they had gone in there for a late lunch. But before either one of them had gotten out, Sam had stopped Rivan, and after gently but firmly asking her to look at him, he'd warned her one more time about what would happen if she didn't eat.

"If you go in here and pull another little bratty fit and refuse to eat again, it's gonna be all over but the shouting," he'd told her quietly. "There won't be any second chances, and there will be no renegotiations. If you don't eat something in here, when we get into our hotel room tonight you're going directly over my knee, and I will spank you long and hard. And then I'll do it again tomorrow night, even if you eat all day long." Sam had let a moment of silence fall between them, and then he had looked her right in the eye. "Do you understand me, Rivan?" he had asked her, his voice still quiet but now very intense.

She had only stared at him for about half a second before she'd nodded. "Yes sir," she'd whispered, and a few tears had broken free and trickled down her pretty cheeks.

"Good girl," Sam had said as he'd reached out and wiped her tears away. "Let's go eat then." They had gone in and much to Sam's great, great relief, Rivan had ordered a patty melt and fries. She'd been able to eat at least half of it before she'd gotten full, and Sam had easily seen the panic in her beautiful blue eyes. She'd been under the impression that she was required to eat every single bite, and Sam could tell that she really couldn't.

"Hey," he'd said when the panic in her eyes increased when he pulled his wallet out. "You're fine. You did good. I told you I wanted you to eat a good meal, and you did. That was a whole lot more than you have been eating. You don't have to eat absolutely everything on your plate if you get full. I kind of figured that might happen at first, and I should have told you that you didn't have to eat all of it. You ate half of it. That's fine, I'm happy with that."

Rivan had instantly relaxed at that, and for the rest of the day she'd gone back to her happy, chattering self. Well, actually she had gone back to that for the rest of the trip. It'd been strange to have someone talking to him like that. When it had just been him and Dean traveling, a lot of times neither one would say more than two words to each other, even when they weren't fighting. But Sam hadn't minded Rivan's talking. It relaxed him actually, and had made the trip more enjoyable. He loved to hear her voice, and she was intelligent and funny. It had just been great to see her that relaxed and satisfied after everything that she'd been through.

She hadn't given him any more problems about eating, much to Sam's great relief. Most of the time she only ate half of her meals, but as Sam had told her, he was happy with that. So that paired with her happy chatter had put Sam in a great mood himself. But then he'd noticed that the closer they got to Maine, the quieter Rivan got. After a while she was barely talking, and now that they were this close the only thing he was getting out of her was a nod or a shake of her head. And shoulder shrugs. He got a lot of that. Her eating habits hadn't declined any though. That was something at least.

Of course, Sam knew the reason why she had reversed back to silence. They were getting closer to Maine, and that meant they were getting closer to the point when it would be time for her spanking. She was dreading it, naturally. Sam couldn't say he blamed her. He was dreading it himself, to be honest. This spanking was going to have to be the worst one he had ever given her. Even worse than the one he had given her all those months ago, in the same house they were heading for now.

It was going to have to hurt, a lot, and Sam hated that. But he knew there was no other way around it. He was going to have to get her full attention with this spanking, and she was going to have to remember it for months to come. He hoped and prayed that it would be the last spanking he'd have to give her for a long, long time. He was going to focus on that as much as he could and drive his lesson home, and drive it home hard.

As Sam stood there in that hotel room and gazed down at the sleeping Rivan, he knew that beautiful little woman that he loved so much was going to need a spanking to beat all spankings. Facing and understanding that realization broke Sam's heart. He hated that he had to do it, more than any tough thing that he'd been force to do in the past.

But if he wanted to keep this woman alive and love her like she deserved, like he needed to love her, he was going to have to set fire to her butt and make her deeply regret everything that she'd done. Every decision that she'd made that led her to follow them that night to the cemetery. She'd have to come to hate every move she'd made. And she would have to despise and loath that lie that she'd told him. Of course, he was pretty sure she already did. But still, he'd have to be certain. The worst part about that was that Sam knew he would have to make sure she knew just how badly she had hurt him with that lie.

Sam took a deep breath and closed his eyes. It was not going to be pretty. It was going to be absolute hell for him. Of course this didn't mean that he was going to beat her or take things too far. No, he could never do that. He knew how far to go. He knew how to hold back. But he also knew how to plan a punishment that would be very hard to forget. In the end, when it was all over, she would have no more guilt, but by God, she would remember this spanking for a long, _**long**_ time.

A sudden beeping noise startled Sam out of his dark thoughts, and he looked down at his wristwatch. It was six o'clock. He had let Rivan sleep in long enough, and now it was time for her to get up and get ready. Over the last few days of traveling Sam had learned the best way to wake her up. It had taken him a while to find the right way. He'd found that if he called her name, even softly and carefully, it would startle her awake and scare her. She never used to do that, but there were a lot of things that was different about her. But now Sam knew how to ease her out of her sleep gently and slowly, so she wouldn't jerk herself out of a deep sleep, scared and confused.

Quietly Sam moved over to the bed and sat down next to her. She didn't move at all, and Sam felt bad that she was so tired. Reminding himself that she would soon get to rest properly, he slowly reached out and began to rub her back. First he rubbed small circles on the small of her back, and then he moved his hand up a bit and did the same thing. After a few moments of that he moved his hand up even further, rubbing between her shoulder blades. Then he moved his hand back down right above the small of her back, and rubbed there for several moments.

After a few more seconds of this he finally felt her begin to stir. He felt the muscles under his hand tighten a little and then relax, and Sam watched as she stretched just a tiny bit. He kept up the rubbing and she moaned a little and stretched again, and one arm came out from under the covers. She stretched it out and then let it flop down on her pillow. She let out another tiny moan, and then Sam saw her open her eyes.

"Hey," he greeted her softly when she swung sleep laden eyes onto him. "Morning, beautiful," he added with a small smile. "You feelin' okay this morning?" She let out a little grunt at that, and Sam laughed softly. "Not awake enough to know yet?" he asked gently. She let out another grunt that had the tone of a "yeah", and Sam laughed again before leaning over and kissing her soft cheek. "Well, I hate to say it, but you gotta get up now, baby. I let you sleep in a little longer, but now you need to get ready so we can go. If we want to get to our house before it gets too dark, we're gonna have to leave soon."

This time Rivan moaned and buried her face in her pillow, and Sam reached out to stroke her hair. "I know how tired you are," he told her. "But we only have one more day of driving, and then you can rest all you want, okay?" Rivan moaned again and Sam figured she was thinking that she wasn't going to get too much rest at first, considering what was going to happen once they got settled in the house.

Sam sighed a little and patted her butt through the covers. "Come on," he told her as he stood. He reached down to give her back another rub and then straightened. "I've got all of your stuff laid out in the bathroom," he added. "Since you washed your hair last night, all you have to do is get in the shower, wash off, get out and dry, and put your clothes on. Everything's packed except what you need out, and when you're done we'll just throw that in your bag and go."

Rivan moaned once more but it turned into a grumble, though Sam didn't understand what she was saying. With a sigh she turned over on her side and then pushed herself in a sitting position. She rubbed at her eyes for a moment, which Sam always found so cute that it touched his heart, and then very reluctantly she got to her feet. With a groggy look she moved past Sam and then made her way into the bathroom. She closed the door, and with a sigh Sam sat back down on the bed.

After a few minutes he pulled out the map he had been using for their trip, and he studied it as he listened to Rivan get ready. He heard her brush her teeth and seconds later the shower came on. He heard the shower curtain being pulled back and then heard it being jerked back into place. After that he could hear nothing but the sound of running water, but he stayed alert and ready in case she needed him. But nothing happened, and soon he heard the water go off. One of the many great things about traveling with Rivan was that she never took too long to get ready. A lot of women took an hour or more to shower, blow dry and style their hair, and put on make-up. Sam remembered when they had first learned about Rivan and found out that she was going to have to travel with them, Dean'd had a fit about it.

"We can't have a woman traveling with us _all the time_!" he had raged several times as he drove the Impala toward Oregon, where they would meet and pick up Rivan. "What if she's one of those women who take two hours to get ready? All the dang make up and jewelry women think they need nowadays. It's a bunch of crap. And ya know, if she wears make up and runs out of it, I bet she'll have some kind of little fit until we get her more. And how are we gonna afford that? We can hardly keep up with the gas prices, much less a bunch of make-up. I'm tellin' you Sammy, this ain't gonna work! It's gonna be a serious pain in the ass!"

Of course Sam had tried to sooth him and told him to give it a chance. Maybe this woman would be different. Dean had snorted in a loud, disbelieving way, but Sam had ignored him. They had spent most of their trip to Oregon with Dean griping about their new charge, and Sam being optimistic about it, and asking him not to be mean to the girl.

"First impressions are lasting, you know," Sam had told his brother. "So if you're a jerk right off the bat and step on her toes, yeah, it probably won't be fun traveling with her." Dean had just grumbled in response for a while, but eventually he'd stopped and drove in silence.

Of course, once they'd met Rivan, it didn't take them long to realize that she was not like the women Dean had described. She'd brought some make-up with her, but it had only been some mascara, eye liner, and eye shadow, along with a few tubes of lip gloss. Rivan was not big on putting a lot of make-up on, and a lot of times she only put mascara and lip gloss on. Then she was ready to go. Sam had been very thankful for that. So had Dean.

As Sam sat there on the bed, the bathroom door suddenly opened, dragging him out of his reminiscing. Folding the map up, Sam stood and carried it over to his bag. He placed it on top of the duffel bag and then turned to see Rivan standing there, brushing out her long hair. She was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a long sleeved, purple sweater top. She looked a lot more alert than she had before, and Sam smiled at her.

"Ready to go?" he asked her as he shoved his hand into his pocket, making sure he had his wallet.

"Almost," Rivan said. Her verbal answer surprised Sam, since before all he'd been getting was a shake or nod of her head. He watched as she tossed her hair brush on the bed before turning and approaching him. She stopped in front of him and stood on her tip toes so she could slip her arms around his neck. Then she leaned up and kissed him, and Sam savored the feel of her soft lips, and breathed in her beautiful perfume. If there was one thing Rivan really liked, it was perfume. Breathing in deeply, Sam wrapped his arms around her small waist and pulled her closer to him as their kiss deepened.

"I love you," Rivan murmured to him as her lips moved from his to his jaw line, and she dropped little kisses there.

Sam laughed softly. "I love you too, but if you don't stop doing that, we'll never make it to Dedham by tonight," he reminded her.

Rivan paused and looked up at him. "So?" she said quietly. "We're supposed to be on vacation. Who says we have to get to that house today? It can wait until tomorrow. What difference does it make?"

"Baby, you're tired, and so I am. We've been busting our butts trying to get to Dedham so we can actually rest and relax. I'm ready to stop driving," Sam added as he gave her a squeeze. "Come on," he said, and patted her butt. "Let's go. We still need to get some breakfast before we start out."

Rivan sighed and pouted. "Well, I just want to let you know that I don't feel very hungry this morning," she told him as she let him go and stepped back. She reached up and began to fiddle with a strand of her thick hair as she watched Sam nervously.

Sam pressed his lips together and folded his arms over his chest. "Well, as long as you at least eat half of what you order, everything will be fine," he told her firmly.

Rivan's shoulders slumped and her pout became more pronounced. "But Sam!" she whined at him. "I don't feel hungry enough to eat that much right now!"

"Oh come on," Sam said with a shake of his head. "You're really gonna try to pull that crap _now_, after you've been doing so good over the last few days? Give me a break, Rivan. The rules are the same. Either you eat or you get spanked. Every night, for at least a week," he added.

"But Sam, that's not fair!" she protested angrily. "We're almost to Dedham!"

"What difference does that make?" Sam wanted to know. "My rule still applies, and so does the consequences. Unless you want to get spanked on top of the big spanking you have coming, you better eat something. And I just don't mean for breakfast. All day, Rivan. Nothing has changed."

For a moment Rivan just stood there and stared at him in shock. Sam figured it was probably because he had mentioned the big spanking she was going to get once they got to the house in Dedham. He hadn't said anything about it until now. Perhaps she had hoped she wouldn't get one.

When she just continued to stand there, Sam sighed deeply. "Come on, Rivan. Get the last of your things together and let's go."

For a moment she didn't move, and finally she let out a loud sigh and then turned and went back into the bathroom. Sam listened as she gathered up all of her stuff, and minutes later she came back out with her hands full. Without looking at him she went over to the bed where Sam had put her bags, and she pulled her make-up bag out. Silently she stuffed everything in it, and then shoved it into her bigger bag. She zipped it up quickly and sharply, and when she turned around she crashed right into Sam.

"What're you—" she began, but she was cut off when Sam grabbed her and laid a serious kiss on her. She squeaked in surprise and then slapped at his arm, apparently still wanting to have a fit, but Sam kept up what he was doing, and soon she melted in his arms. The kiss lasted a few more seconds, and then he broke contact and looked down at her.

"No fighting today," he told her softly. "No arguing, no whining, no being difficult. Just enjoy the day with me, okay? Please?" he added.

Rivan blushed terribly and quickly looked away from him. Her breathing quickened, as did her heartbeat. He thought he heard a little whimper escape from her lips, and Sam stared down at her, suddenly concerned. But before he could say anything she looked back up at him. Her gorgeous, deep blue eyes were shining brilliantly with unshed tears, and she almost had a devastated look on her face.

"I'm sorry," she told him in a near whisper. "I'll be good. I promise," she said. "I won't be bad anymore," she added.

"Rivan, you're not bad," Sam told her as he frowned at her in concern. "I never said you were a bad person. You're a beautiful person, and I love you. Sometimes you can be a brat, but you're not a bad person. Okay?" he asked. She said nothing, just looked away, and Sam ran a hand down her cheek and then under her chin. Gently he tilted her face up so he could look into her eyes, and when deep blue met hazel a small tear drop escaped from her right eye and slid down her cheek. Carefully Sam leaned down and kissed it away.

"You are _not_ bad," he told her again, his tone firm. "Okay? You're not. You're the woman I love no matter what, and you're perfect in every way you need to be. Sometimes you just need to be guided down a better road." Sam kissed her again, softly. "The fact that you need that from time to time in your life doesn't make you a bad person. It just makes you human. Understand?"

Rivan took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them they were free of tears, and she nodded. "Yes," she told him. "I understand."

For a few seconds Sam stood there and stared down at her. "Okay," he finally said. He let go of her chin and reached up to stroke her cheek with the back of his hand. "You ready to go then?"

Rivan nodded at him, and she got her bag as Sam picked his up. Grabbing the credit card shaped key to their room, Sam opened the door and stepped out first. Intense eyes scanned the parking lot before him, and he looked down the sidewalk on his right, and then on his left. Once he was sure everything was okay, he turned and took Rivan's hand, and they left the hotel room. She stayed close to him as Sam tossed everything in the trunk, and Rivan followed him when he went to turn the key in. After that they went back to the Impala, where Sam unlocked Rivan's door first and held it open for her. She slid in quickly and Sam closed to the door.

Still moving fast, Sam made it to the driver's side and was inside in record time. A minute later, the Impala pulled out and drove away from the hotel. As it disappeared from view, a black raven that had been high in the tree next to the Winchester car hopped down a few branches. It cawed softly and stretched its wings as it stared in the direction the Impala had gone.

As it stared, none of the other people that walked by it saw that it had deep, red eyes. The bird let out another squawk, blinked its frightening red eyes, and seconds later it was gone.

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, so that's it for now. I hope you all liked it well enough. I know some may be bummed because the spanking scene was not in this chapter, but it will be in the next one. Again I don't know when I'll get to post it, but I ask, please, for everyone's patience and understanding on that. I know I really don't have to ask for that because you're all wonderful and kind people. I appreciate you all so much, and I thank you for your support.**


	21. A Price To Pay

**A/N: Hello everyone. I know it's been a while since my last update. Things have been very hard for me lately, so it took me a while to get this done. I don't have much to say so I'm not going to take up a lot of space here. I do want to take a moment and thank you all for your kind words on the loss of my father. The show of kindness and compassion meant a lot to me. Thank you all.**

**Well anyway, please forgive any mistakes you might find as you read. I hope everyone enjoys the new chapter and I hope everyone is doing well!**

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><p><em>A bright red Mustang pulled into the parking lot of the quiet, sleepy motel. It drove past the small building that had a neon sign in the front window, which read "Vacancy" and right under that "Check in here". The driver of the Mustang ignored the obvious. It continued on until it reached the building that held all the available rooms. There was only one other car there, and slowly the red Mustang pulled in next to it. <em>_For a moment nothing happened, and then the driver opened the door. A lone man stepped out, looking all around him. Not very tall but not terrible short, he had a shaved head, a bushy, black goatee and intense blue eyes. Most people who met him had thought of those eyes as mean eyes. Unfortunately for those same people they'd later found out that their first impression of this man had been right._

_Fighting back a telling smirk, the man closed the car door and then fixed his eyes on the car next to him. It was a black Chevy Impala, a 1967 model, if he was guessing right. It was in good condition, too. The paint job was shiny and the hub caps were as well, and the tires looked brand new. Even people who were ignorant in the world of cars would say it was a nice one. But it wasn't the car the lone man was interested in._

_He was more interested in the decoration it was currently adorned with. Across the top of the trunk lay a teal blue towel, and across the towel itself was a beautiful woman. She was dressed in a pair of denim shorts that outlined her butt nicely, and she had a dark pink tank top on. She was wearing a pair of round, black sun glasses, and her pretty dark brown hair was pinned up in a sloppy bun, which only made her look sexier than she already was. She had no shoes on her small feet, but next to her, resting on the towel, was a pair of dark blue flip flops. A touch of sparkly lip gloss caught the man's attention, and he zoned in on her naturally pouty lips._

_But at the moment she was not pouting. She was lying there with her arms crossed on the towel, and her chin resting on top of her arms. She was staring at the man, as she had been doing since he'd stepped out of the car. Though he couldn't see her eyes due to the sun glasses, he could tell she was tense and nervous. Smart girl. Or maybe not so smart. She was, after all, out here in the open with no one close by to save her. And in just a few minutes she would need to be saved._

_Smiling now, the man took a step closer to her, and instantly her head popped up. Alarm was written all over her pretty face, and she jerked her sun glasses off. As soon as she did the man was treated to the sight of a pair of the most stunning deep blue eyes he had ever seen. The rumors were true. She had the jewel like eyes of cobalt sapphires set in a beautiful face. He kept his eyes on hers for a moment, and then took in the rest of her._

_For the first time the man noticed how tiny she was, and his smile widened. She would be easy to take. Though he had been told she'd been trained to defend herself. The man felt excitement stir deep inside him. He loved feisty women. They were wonderful toys that he could tame in any way he chose to. It had been a while since he'd had a woman worth taming._

_Again the man took another step closer, and the woman pushed herself up on her knees. "Easy now," the man told her, his voice hard and rough. "I was just admiring you, that's all," he continued._

_The young woman glared at him, not fooled. "Trust me when I say I'm not someone you want to get caught "admiring", she sneered at him, her gorgeous blue eyes flashing like fiery jewels in the sun light._

_The man laughed softly. "You know, that warning would probably make most men a little scared," he replied. "But trust __**me**__ when I say I'm not like most men."_

"_That's obvious," the woman snarled at him. "You're more stupid than most men because you're still standing here, bothering me."_

_Again the man laughed. Oh yes. She was a wild one, alright. Perfect. "I like the car," he said, ignoring her words. "Is it yours?"_

"_No," she snapped. "It belongs to my boyfriend's brother. I'm traveling with both of them, and they don't take kindly to anyone who bothers me. So you better get out of here before they come out and see you," she added as she nodded at the hotel door the car was parked in front of._

_The man snorted. "I know who you belong to, little girl," he told her, taking yet another step closer. "And I know what they can do. But I'm not scared of either one of them. Because for one thing, they're not even here. They're across the road, aren't they? In that little bar, looking for clues on their latest job. Their latest __**hunting**__ job," he added, and was pleased when the woman's eyes went wide. "I told you I know who they are," he reminded her. "But they're both a long way from you. They have no idea you're even out here. They think you're inside the hotel room, being a good little girl. It's not much of a surprise that you're not. Word spreads quickly in my world. We all know you're a little fool that takes too many risks. You've put a lot of people in danger_—_serious danger_—_in the past before, haven't you?"_

_The man paused and watched as the woman squirmed, both from guilt and fear. "I don't even know why Sam keeps you around," the man continued, and the woman's eyes grew huge. "You're of no use to him. You only cause him stress and worry, pain and fear. He thinks he's in love with you, but he's delusional. He always has been. He wants a woman to love so badly he's willing to put up with a stupid, selfish brat like you." The man paused, watching her. "You don't belong in his world, Rivan," he continued. "You never have. You fail to understand and except the dangers of a hunter's life. You refuse to follow rules and you don't care who gets hurt when you take off on your own. All you care about is what __**you**__ want."_

"_But don't be too devastated," the man added when the woman looked like she would start sobbing. "There is still hope for you. Not in Sam's world, but in mine. You are a Langston, and you are destine for great things. Sam won't train you to be a hunter because he wants to keep you safe. He's stupid to even think that's possible. He can't keep someone safe that doesn't want to be kept safe. So come with me, before you destroy his life. That would be cruel, wouldn't it? His life has been destroyed so many times. He's survived it all, but a man can only take so much before being completely torn apart. If you love him at all, leave him. __**Now**__." With a wild grin, the man moved a little closer. "Come with me. I can take you to someone who can teach you so much…come with me, darling Rivan."_

_The man took one more step toward the shivering woman, and she started to scream. She only did it for a few seconds though, because suddenly the man vanished in a mist of black smoke, and where the man had been a black raven now hovered in the air. It had deep red eyes, and it opened its beak and let out an ugly caw. Before the terrified woman could scream again someone wrapped a strong arm around her waist from behind._

_She was jerked off the trunk of the Impala roughly, her towel slipping off and getting caught in a gust of wind. It danced away as the blue flip flops hit the ground, and the raven let out a screaming shriek before taking flight. As it flew away the woman was left behind, struggling with the man that had grabbed her. It was not Sam. She didn't know who it was, but it was not her Sam._

"_Do not fear me," the man suddenly whispered in her ear. "I will not harm you. You have my word. I want only to teach you…to guide you down the road you were meant to be on. Come with me, Rivan. You will not regret it. I promise."_

"_NO!" the young woman screamed at the top of her lungs. She was trying hard to twist around so she could see the man holding her, but she could not move. "LET GO OF ME! LEAVE ME ALONE! SAM! SAM! HELP ME!"_

"_He cannot hear you," the man told the struggling woman. "He no longer wants you. But I do." Before the woman could respond to that there was a loud snapping sound that seemed to echo around the parking lot. A little puff of purple smoke sprung up from somewhere, and in the next second the man and the fighting woman disappeared. The parking lot fell silent, and the red Mustang was no longer there. Once again the black Impala was the only car there, and no one had witnessed the odd abduction of the young woman._

_Another breeze picked up and blew a few leaves off the small trees that had been planted in front of the motel. In the distance a raven could be heard, its cawing sounding more like screaming laughter as it faded slowly away…_

**Dedham, Maine:**

_Tap…tap…tap…_ My eyes flew open as the cry of the raven echoed in my head. There was a strange taping sound on the window behind me, and I felt myself break out in a cold sweat. I rolled over quickly in the bed and forced myself to look at the window, praying it wasn't what it sounded like. What it sounded like was a bird tapping on the glass pane. But when I finally got a good look at the window, I saw that it was only the tip of a tree branch, bumping against the window thanks to the strong breeze outside.

Relieved, I released a breath I hadn't even realized I had been holding as I flopped back down on my pillow. I closed my eyes, only to have them pop open again a moment later. I sat up and looked at the other side of the bed. It was empty. Sam had already gotten up, and I'd completely missed it. Reaching up and wiping the sleep from my eyes, I glanced at the clock by the bed. It was fifteen minutes after ten. It felt earlier than that. Maybe because I was still so tired. Probably. I had a lot of reasons to be tired. Like that dream, for starters. It had been so odd. Instead of seeing things through my own eyes like usual, I had been watching it as a bystander, or watching it the way I would watch a TV show. That alone had been strange enough. But the actual dream had taken the prize for strange. And frightening.

At least it had been different than the one I'd been having over and over. That was the only good thing I could say about this new dream. If one could call that good. The rest of it had scared me. The raven from my first dream had made another appearance, but only toward the end of the dream. And as it had looked, that man, whoever he was, had actually turned into the raven. As for the man himself, I'd never seen him before in my life.

But right now that man was not really what was bothering me. What bothered me is what he'd said to me. He'd known who Sam and Dean were, and he'd known who I was. And apparently he had known quite a lot about me. Some of his words floated back to me, and I shivered.

"_Word spreads quickly in my world. We all know you're a little fool that takes too many risks. You've put a lot of people in danger_—_serious danger_—_in the past before, haven't you?"_

He had said '_We all know'. _Who is "we"? I had no answer, but that part of his words wasn't what I was stressing over. He knew what I had done, how I don't know, but he'd talked about the horrible things I had done. How I had risked everyone's life because of a stupid choice I had made. He had said I didn't belong in Sam's world, that I never had belonged in it. And that Sam wanted a woman to love so badly that he was willing to put up with me. Well, the man's words had been, '_put up with a stupid, selfish brat like you_'.

I felt my whole body start to tremble, but I fought to get a hold of myself. It had only been a dream. All of it. Including the unseen man that had come up behind me and grabbed me, with the promise of teaching me so many things, and had disappeared into thin air with me. I shivered as I recalled James' words from my first dream.

"_There are others who are just as interested in you as I once was."_

Were these two men the "others" that James had been talking about? For a moment I just sat there and stared, and then I shook my head. _It's just a dream_, I reminded myself firmly. None of it is real or important. Well, that last part was a lie. Everything that the bald guy had said about me was true. And because it was my dream, that meant the man had actually been a representation of the inner me, the one that had been beating me up since the fight with James.

It was for a good reason. I had done a terrible thing, and I'd waltzed into that cemetery as though nothing could ever touch me, simply because I didn't want anything to. That's how I went through my existence in a hunter's world. I ignored everyone's warnings because I thought that _I _knew better than them. These thoughts were the mind of a selfish, stupid, spoiled child. And because I had behaved that way, people that I love had almost died. I had been living with this guilt since the battle at the cemetery. I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to get rid of it, or I would go completely insane.

With that thought in mind, I tossed the covers off of me and got up. Quickly I went over to my bag, which I still hadn't unpacked yet, and pulled out a pair of jeans and a long sleeved sweater top that was a rich, dark blue. My mother had gotten it for me for my high school graduation. She'd said that it matched my eyes and brought the color out even more. I had to admit that it did. I always felt closer to my mom when I wore it.

After getting the rest of my things, I hurried into the bathroom. I dumped everything on the big sink and laid my clothes out, and brushed my teeth quickly. Then gathering my shampoo and body wash, I went to the shower and turned it on. Once the water was just right, I set my things in the little basket that hung on the shower head, stripped, and stepped in, closing the shower door behind me.

As I worked the shampoo into my thick hair, my mind drifted back to the most recent past events. Sam and I had been at the house in Maine for two days now, and they had not been restful days. Because we'd been gone from the house for so long, all the things that Sam and Dean had put up last time to protect us were gone, either blown away by the wind or deliberately brushed away by the man that owned the house. I seriously doubted the owner was the culprit because he had been a hunter once and knew how important wards were. Of course, perhaps he had planned on letting people stay here that weren't hunters. But even then he would have kept the wards in place to protect the people in the house, wouldn't he? I would think so, but who really knows?

But no matter how the wards had gotten removed, they needed to be replaced. So Sam and I had spent the last two days doing just that. I had learned a lot during those two days. Sam had taught me how to make a devil's trap, and after a lot of practice on scraps of paper, I had spray painted it on the floor just a few steps away from the front door. Then Sam had covered it up with a huge rug he had found in one of the closets in the many bedrooms in the house. Of course we had laid rock salt in front of all of the doors and windows, both outside and inside. Sam had hung charms and symbols on the walls of the house, both inside and out, and he had made a new batch of holy water.

That was something else I had learned how to make. Sam had given me my own rosary and had taught me the incantation that all hunters knew. He'd written the incantation on a piece of paper for me, and now I knew how to make my very own holy water. Well, kind of. Sam had made me read the words he had written down out loud, several times, and several times he'd had to correct my pronunciation of the words. At one point I'd gotten very frustrated, but Sam had merely soothed me, promising me that I'd get it right. He'd said he wanted me to practice every day, because he said it was important that I get it memorized.

"I want you to read it and memorize it," he'd told me as he'd poured holy water into an empty milk jug. "When you think you have it memorized, I want to hear it."

I'd stared at him. "You mean I have to say it out loud to you? Without looking at the paper?"

"Yes," he'd told me, his tone firm. "I'm also gonna teach you the incantation for exorcising a demon," he'd added.

"Why?" I'd asked nervously.

For a moment he'd said nothing, and then he'd sighed and looked at me. "You need to know these things, Rivan," he'd said. "That way if there ever comes a time when you need to get rid of a demon and I'm not there, you can do it. And it would be good for you to know how to make holy water at the drop of a hat. You can stop a demon in their tracks with a good squirt of holy water. If you're gonna survive in a hunter's world, you need to know how to do these things."

His words had scared me, though I had hidden that from Sam. They also had annoyed me, because he'd made it sound like I was going to have to study this stuff every day on our vacation and I didn't want to do that. But I'd picked up on the fact that Sam wouldn't be very happy if I argued about it, so I'd kept my mouth shut. So far he had yet to mention anything else about it.

Anyway, after we'd gotten the inside of the house secured, we'd started on the outside. More so the edges of the property, that is. When we had been there before Sam and Dean had marked the edges of the property by walking around it and nailing strips of cloths on trees. Because the man who owned the house had been a hunter, there had been a map of the property that the house sat on, and Sam and Dean had found it and had used it to find the edges of the land.

On the second day of our "vacation" I had followed Sam around and had watched as he'd laid down salt lines, making a big circle of protection around the house. When he'd said that's what he was going to do, I had wondered how he'd thought the salt would stay put, what with the bad weather that was beginning to set in. But Sam had other things to add besides salt, and soon the trees around the house had quite a few decorations on them, ranging from more amulets and symbols, to hex bags and pieces of strange herbs tied together with string. Sam had also drawn more protective symbols on the trees, and even on some rocks.

As we'd walked around doing all of this, I had caught signs of other wards, mostly faded, that had been set out long ago by other hunters. Or maybe just the man who owned the house. I'd wondered out loud if the man had let other hunters hole-up in the house in the past, and Sam seemed to think that he had. Sam had said he'd seen old wards beyond the edges of the property when he and Dean had been out here, and he'd figured that even though they were a bit old they'd still offer us some extra protection. That was more than okay with me.

By the time we'd finished with all of that, it had started to get dark, and Sam had hurried me into the house. He'd been pleased with how fast we'd set everything out, and he'd said he felt confident that we were well protected. After that we had poked around the kitchen and found something to eat, and then we had watched some TV before going to bed.

Now we were on our third day of our vacation, and Sam hadn't mentioned anything about my spanking. I knew very well that he hadn't forgotten, and I knew very well that he hadn't let me off the hook. That was really okay with me, to be honest. There was a big part of me that actually wanted him to do it. Like I said before, I was sick of this guilt I was carrying around, and I knew there was no other way to get rid of it. I'd come to the conclusion a long time ago that I wouldn't feel better until I got spanked. And yes, I am very aware of how strange that sounds. But the truth is often strange, and I wasn't going to try to run from it.

I let my mind wander as I finished up my shower, and as I stepped out and began to dry off I let my mind wander to Dean and Eden. Sam had only talked to Dean a few times during our very interesting road trip, and I hadn't talked to Eden at all. Usually, it was because Dean only called late at night when Eden was already asleep. That had annoyed me big time. I had wanted to share my worries with my friend. Not far into our trip, Sam had threatened to spank me every night for at least a week if I didn't start eating properly. He had never threatened to do such a thing, and I'd needed someone to whine to about that. But I didn't get to.

I shook my head as I sprayed some of my body mist on, Japanese Cherry Blossom of course, and then I sighed as I began to dress. I pushed the other details of my road trip with Sam away. When I thought about it, I usually ended up weighed down with more guilt, and I just couldn't handle any more. Not that the entire trip had been bad. There had been good moments. But right now I was more prone to focus on the bad, and since I didn't want to slip into a hysterical fit I opted not to think about the trip at all.

My mind pretty much stayed blank as I pulled my clothes on. Once I was done, I hauled my hair dryer out and, with a loud sigh, I plugged it in. I hated drying my hair. Because it was so thick, it took forever for it to dry, even with a hair dryer. On our road trip Sam had always insisted that I wash my hair at night, so I wouldn't be leaving in the morning with wet hair. Since most of the weather we'd run into had been painfully cold, that had made sense. He hadn't wanted me to get sick, and I hadn't wanted that either.

After standing there in the bathroom way too long with the hair dryer aimed at my head, I finally got tired and figured it was dry enough. I ran my hair brush through it several times, and then gathered my towel and dirty clothes and dumped them in the laundry basket. For a moment I just stood there staring at my reflection in the mirror, and then finally I left the bathroom. After pulling on a pair of dark blue socks, I left the bedroom. I hurried down the hall and then down the stairs, and once I reached the bottom I could hear some bumping around in the kitchen.

"Sam?" I called out, just to make sure it was him in there. Hey, protective wards or not, you never know, right?

"In the kitchen," he called back, and I heard the scrape of a chair as he pulled it back.

Swallowing hard, I started forward. I crossed the familiar living room toward the equally familiar kitchen, and once at the door I stopped and looked in, leaning against the door jamb. Sam was sitting at the kitchen table, facing me, with a newspaper open in front of him. He was fully dressed and looking good. Despite the work we had done over the past two days, he had gotten a lot more sleep than he had when we'd been on the road. He looked rested and refreshed, and when he looked up and saw me, he smiled that wonderful smile of his.

But there was something else in his eyes besides his smile. There was a tension there, paired with a dark look of sad but firm acceptance. My heart suddenly started to beat fast, and I swallowed hard and shifted slightly. I had a feeling that I wasn't the only one that was thinking about my guilt and recent bad actions. My idea of facing the music seemed a lot harder to do now than it had only minutes ago.

"Morning," Sam greeted me, causing me to jump a little. Why, I don't know, because it's not like he snapped at me.

"Morning," I said back, and I was very annoyed when the word came out in a tiny squeak.

The corners of Sam's mouth twitched up just a little, but that was the only response he gave to my squeak. "I was wondering when you were gonna get up," he said as he watched me. "How're you feeling?" he asked me before I could reply to that comment.

I shrugged. "Okay," I said. "Fine," I added for some reason. "How are you feeling?" I asked back. My voice trembled a little and my tone sounded false, as though I wasn't really concentrating on these little pleasantries. Which I guess I wasn't. I was just running my mouth for lack of anything else to say. Or more so, the lack of wanting to say what I needed to.

"I'm okay," Sam said in reply to my silly question. "You sure you're feeling okay? No pain, no strange feelings?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

Sam nodded. "Good, I'm glad."

For some reason my mind went blank. I wasn't sure how to respond to that one, so I said nothing. As I stood there fidgeting, I suddenly noticed the mug beside the newspaper. Steam slowly curled up into the air from the dark liquid within. "I thought there wasn't any coffee in here," I said to Sam. The first morning we'd been here Sam had searched for coffee, but hadn't found any at all. Sam didn't particularly like coffee, but he was used to drinking it, and when he hadn't found it he'd been a bit annoyed.

"There isn't," Sam replied to my comment. "I looked again and still didn't find any, but I did find some tea bags," he added as he lifted his mug. "There's some hot water on the stove if you want a cup," he told me, nodding toward the stove. Resting on one of the burners was an old tea kettle, and I could see little puffs of steam coming from the spout.

"No, that's okay," I said. "I don't want any right now." Sam nodded, and he sat there and watched me as he took a few sips of his tea. For a few more seconds I stayed where I was, and then finally I forced myself to pull a chair out. I sat down across from Sam, leaning back as I folded my arms. Sam placed his mug back on the table, and I watched him until he looked up at me. When our eyes met I looked away quickly, my heart picking up speed.

I could feel the beginnings of an intense blush as I sat there. How the heck was I supposed to put what I wanted to say into words? I ran a few lines through my head, and they seemed terribly embarrassing and silly. I sat there and stared down at my hands, shifting nervously in my seat as the part of me that wanted the guilt gone battled with the part of me that didn't want to face the consequences.

"I'm ready to listen if you're ready to talk," Sam suddenly said, and my head snapped up. He raised one eyebrow at me when our eyes met, and I turned a bright red.

I opened my mouth, closed it, squirmed in my chair, opened my mouth again, closed it again, and swallowed hard. "I…" I began, but faltered. Then I took a deep, shaky breath as I focused my eyes on the table top. "I don't want to fight it anymore," I said softly, and my eyes began to sting. Wonderful.

"You don't want to fight what anymore?" Sam asked patiently, almost gently.

Well of course that patient, gentle tone only encouraged my tears. My eyes filled quickly, and I concentrated on keeping the tears from falling. "I…I don't…" I faded off again and sighed in frustration. "I feel terrible," I finally whispered, still not looking at him. "And I can't take it anymore," I added, still speaking in a whisper.

For a moment Sam said nothing, and then he sighed. "That's guilt, you know," he said, his tone still soft.

I swallowed hard, and a few of my stupid tears slipped out and started their journey down my face. Quickly I reached up and wiped them away, and then I drew in a deep, shuddering breath. "I know," I said, almost in a moan. "I know," I said again. "But…do you hate me, Sam?" I blurted, and his eyes went wide.

"Of course not, Rivan," he quickly assured me. "We've been through this. I can't hate the woman I love. It's just not a possible thing for me to do."

That relaxed me a little, but I tensed right back up when I thought about what the bald man in my dream had said. "Yes but…do you really and truly love me, Sam?" I asked him. "Or are you just so desperate to love someone that you just…put up with me?"

For a second Sam just stared at me, and then he inhaled sharply. "Why would you ask me something like that?" he wanted to know. His voice was soft and hurt filled. "Have I ever given you the feeling that I'm desperate and just put up with you? Have I made you feel like that even once since we've been together?" He sat there and stared at me, his eyes tortured and his face pained.

I swallowed hard. "No," I said in a near whisper. Of course he hadn't. What had I been thinking when I asked him that? _Why _had I asked? Just because I'd had some stupid dream? _You idiot_, I thought in disgust. I had gone and asked Sam a question that hurt him just because I couldn't get over a lame dream I'd had. Stupid, stupid, _**stupid**_!

"Then what made you ask me that?" Sam inquired, and some of the hurt and confusion seemed to lift from his face and his tone. I wondered if he had picked up on something. Perhaps he had seen the look on my face and guessed that something else had driven me to ask that. Sam was pretty good at picking up on stuff like that.

"I don't know," I told him as I wiped away more tears. "I'm sorry I asked that. I don't know what comes over me sometimes. I do and say stuff and then I don't even know why. I'm sorry, Sam. I don't know what I was thinking," I told him as I stared down at the table cloth.

Sam was quiet for a moment. "I think you do," he replied.

I looked up at him in surprise, my eyes wide. "What?"

"I think you know what you were thinking when you asked me that," he told me. "Something drove you to ask me that question. Not so much the fact that you really believed that I 'just put up with you'. You asked me for another reason."

I stared at him, and he stared back. "There was no other reason," I insisted, trying to sound firm.

Sam snorted. "Now that lie I actually caught," he said, and I literally cringed. Not sure how to respond to that, I looked back down at the table cloth. My heart was hammering away in my chest, and the tears in my eyes were starting to turn into a miniature flood. Soon they would all break loose and there would be nothing I could do about it.

"Rivan," Sam suddenly said, and I jumped and looked up at him. "I want you to listen to me very closely," he told me, his tone intense. "_I love you_. Do you understand that? You understand what I'm saying to you?"

"Yes," I said softly as my tears got closer to freedom.

"I will _**always**_ love you, no matter what," Sam said, and now his tone was hard. "You should have no reason whatsoever to doubt me on that. I've never done anything that should make you question my love for you. I don't know what's making you question it now. But I do know there's something you're not telling me here. What made you ask me such a question?"

"Sam, there's really no specific reason why I asked you that," I told him. I don't know why I was so against telling him about my dream. I guess I just didn't want to give him another reason to worry about me.

He stared at me, causing me to squirm in my chair. "I don't know why you're lying to me," he said, and I felt sick. "But if you change your mind and want to talk to me about it, I'll be ready to listen," he added before I could say anything.

"Okay," I finally said after the silence between us had lasted too long.

Sam nodded. "Okay then," he said, and after taking a deep breath he picked the newspaper up and began to fold it back up.

I sat there and watched him in silence for a moment, and then I spoke. "Sam?" I said timidly. He looked up at me, his hands still working on folding the map. "Are you very mad at me about what I did?" I asked him softly.

Sam didn't answer right away. He stayed quiet as he finished folding the newspaper back, very neatly and precisely I might add, and then he picked up his mug. "Mad is a severe understatement," he told me as he sipped at the hot tea. "Pissed is a better word," he continued. "Furious. Livid. Enraged. Those are all great words to describe how I feel about what you did." He paused, and I stared at him. "And I'm gonna go ahead and add hurt to that list," he told me, and finally those tears of mine stared to fall. "I'm hurt that you would lie to me about something so important and hurt that you seem to care so little about what life would be like for me without you."

I very nearly fell apart at that, and I fought back a sudden sob. "I do care about that!" I moaned at him. "But I was only trying to help you!"

"I made it very clear what you needed to do in order to help me, Rivan," Sam said, and I could hear anger in his voice now. "I asked you to stay put for a reason, and though I didn't tell you the reason at the time, it turns out you already knew anyway." I blinked, confused. "You told me that you heard what Cas told me and Dean," Sam reminded me. "You said you heard him say that you couldn't be at the cemetery with us because your blood would only strengthen James and make him harder to beat. You knew why you couldn't be there, but you came anyway."

I moaned again and closed my eyes. Of course I remembered how I had confessed everything that morning after the battle, when Sam had held me after helping me get cleaned up. I had told on myself big time. I'd told him every single little thing. I had sealed my fate. There was no way now to convince him to go easy on me. I'd given him every reason not to go easy on me when the time for my punishment rolled around. I didn't deserve any kind of leniency. And I knew I wasn't going to get any.

Feeling my whole body trembling, I opened my eyes and looked back at Sam. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm so sorry, Sam."

He studied me for a moment before putting his mug back down. "Forgiveness comes later," he informed me, his tone hard and unyielding.

I felt my heart crack at that, and I gave him a devastated look. "But—"

"Punishment first," Sam cut me off, and now he sounded just plain pissed. "Forgiveness after that." I started to cry softly then, but that did nothing to ease Sam's anger. "Are you going to eat anything for breakfast right now?" he asked me sharply, ignoring my tears.

"Nooo," I moaned out. "I don't want anything right now. I can't eat," I told him.

Sam eyed me for a moment, and then nodded once. "Okay, then. Get up and go back to our room," he ordered me. By the way he said that, it seemed that his anger was becoming harder to contain. Whimpering, I shot out of my chair quickly, ready to go upstairs. "Rivan, I'm not done," Sam snapped at me. My eyes went wide, but I stood still and waited. "When you get to our room, take your jeans off, all the way off, and then wait for me. I'll be up there in a few minutes."

I stood there and stared at him. He stared back, and I was surprised at the calmness I saw in his face and eyes. Though he had allowed his anger to be heard in his tone and seen in a few of his expressions, he wasn't as mad as I thought he would be. I frowned. That wasn't good. I knew how mad he was. He needed to let more of it out. _I _needed him to do that. I deserved all his anger, all his disappointment. Sam wasn't naturally a man that was quick to anger, at least not severe anger, but I knew he had a temper. He had to be pushed just right before that patient fuse of his reached its explosive power. And I knew what buttons to push that would cause that explosion.

So after taking a deep breath, I planted my feet firmly on the floor, crossed my arms, and gave him my most defiant glare. "You know what, Sam Winchester?" I demanded loudly, angrily. "You can just take your orders and shove them up that tight butt crack of yours. In fact, I recommend that you shove them so far up there that you can taste the words again. And then you can spit them out and shove them right back up where they belong! Because I don't care to hear them!"

"You want to know why?" I half shrieked, really getting into it now. "Because I just now realized something. I don't care how mad you are over what I did! As I have told you before, I am a grown woman and I have the right to make my own choices. You have no right to order me around like I'm a naughty little girl. I knew what I was doing that night when I followed you and the others to the cemetery. I had it all under control. I went because I love you and I knew I had to try to help you, to protect you, because you mean so much to me! How could you be so stupid you couldn't see that? You're supposed to be able to pick up on the smallest details, yet you missed that? How dumb can you get? You obviously don't know everything there is to know! So that brings up a great question. Why should I always listen to you? Because you say so? HA! Yeah right! Well guess what? _**Here's what I think of your rules and your stupid orders**_!" I screamed at him at the top of my lungs.

And then I flipped the man off, double time. I stuck both of my middle fingers high up in the air, and then I stuck my tongue out at him while I was doing it. And I made sure I was noisy about it too. That completely contradicted my grown woman claim, but that was just too bad.

Well, let me tell you, my plan worked perfectly. A bit too perfectly, to be honest. Sam's reaction was instant and almost a little scary, though even then I knew his control was good enough not to seriously hurt me. Before I could blink Sam was out of his chair, coming at me fast. I couldn't help but let out a little shriek, and I turned to run. I think I got about two steps out of my escape plan before I felt Sam's strong hand wrap around my left upper arm. His grip was tight but not painful, and I howled as he jerked me around to face him.

He only glared at me for a moment before he marched me back to the table, and then much to my horror he bent me right over it. I cried out as he pinned me down, his hand at the small of my back. Then his free hand cracked down on my rear, _hard_. I shrieked as he struck me several times, and he was spanking me so hard I could actually feel a sting already, even through my jeans. I wailed in shock at that, but of course Sam ignored me. He gave me a total of ten hard, tear producing smacks, and then he pulled me off the table.

As soon as I was stable on my feet he got me by the upper arm again and marched me out of the kitchen. We flew through the living room and then approached the bottom of the stairs before Sam stopped. I stared up at him, my eyes wide with more than a few tears streaming out of them.

"Get up stairs," Sam told me, and his voice was not calm or soft. He shouted the order at me and I cringed. "You're a spoiled, stubborn little brat, and I promise you before this day is over there's going to be a lot of changes in the way you act and the way you think. You're gonna wish you'd had the sense to listen to me, and you're gonna regret that temper tantrum you just threw. I hope it was worth it, and I hope you enjoyed it, because you're never going to have another one again. Now get upstairs," he added as he turned me and smacked me again, three times.

I wailed as the blows ignited the sting he had already started in the kitchen, and before Sam let me go he gave me one more. "You go to our room and do exactly what I told you to do," he snarled at me as he gave me a little push toward the stairs. "If you're crazy enough to cross me, Rivan, be prepared to pay a big price for it. Got it?"

"_**YES SIR**_!" I actually screamed back at him as I charged up the stairs. I figured that kind of response would bring him up the stairs, but I didn't hear the sound of his stomping feet behind me. After taking a few more steps, I paused and turned around. I looked down to see that Sam was gone, and I heard the sound of a chair in the kitchen being jerked back into place.

Letting out a loud sigh, I turned and started up the stairs again. Geez, my butt was stinging big time already! I pouted as I reached the top of the stairs. I hung a left and started down the hall, rubbing my butt as I walked.

_Well_, _you wanted this_, I reminded myself as I reached the room Sam and I were staying in. _Now you_'_re getting it_. Drawing in a deep, shuddering breath, I entered the room and closed the door. For a moment I just stood there, and then I moved over to the bed. Tears dripped down my face as I plopped down on it, and I wrapped my arms around myself. I was still and quiet as I sat there, waiting for the consequences that I had earned to thunder down on me.

********X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X********

Sam didn't move a muscle or bat an eye as he sat at the kitchen table, one hand wrapped around the warm mug of tea. Though he didn't move and his facial expression stayed the same, his mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. These thoughts were being fueled by many different emotions: Anger, fear, anxiety, confusion, sadness, and dread. He had to admit that right now, anger was his more prominent emotion. The temper tantrum that Rivan had just thrown had shocked him, but the shock had been quickly replaced by anger. Of course, he knew she'd done it on purpose. Her goal had been to make him angrier than he already was. The little darling had succeeded, probably better than she had meant to.

It was obvious that Rivan felt that she truly deserved this spanking, and her guilt was so bad she wanted him to be as mad at her as he could get, without going overboard of course. But she knew she needed to be spanked hard, and she'd wanted to make sure Sam was in the mood to do just that. She really shouldn't have bothered. Sam, of course, was ready to give her the worst spanking ever. There'd been no need for her to poke the quiet but lethal dragon that Sam's mood was. But she had, and now she was going to have to deal with that.

Of course, Sam knew he could cool his temper down if he wanted to. But he knew it was best to let it flow loud and hard, though not in an abusive way. He just needed to be _very _strict and _very _stern with her. But that realization made him cringe and filled him with dread. He didn't want to do it. But he knew it was going to have to be done. There was no getting around it. He had told himself that many times over since he'd started on the road trip with Rivan, and since they'd been in Maine.

Yes, everything in him was demanding that it be done. But of course that didn't make it easier for Sam to get up and head upstairs, where she was waiting for him as ordered. Again he went back to his anger. He knew it was the only thing that would get him through this and make him give her what she needed. He had been holding his fury with her back for almost two weeks now. He'd held it back for a week after the battle at the cemetery, because Rivan had suffered such trauma from what had happened. She'd not been up to facing her punishment then.

Then he had held onto his anger as they'd made their way to Maine. He had been surprised that he had done so well on that. During the trip Rivan had made it easy for him to lose his temper, and a few times he had, but not in the way he'd longed to. It had not been time then to make Rivan face the consequences. So he had kept his anger with her trapped inside as he waited for the right moment.

The right moment was now. Now it was time to force her to face what she had done and take the punishment that she had earned. Though he knew all of this, it didn't make it any easier to carry it out. But it was now or never, and since never was not an option, Sam pushed the chair back, stood, and left the kitchen. He headed toward the stairs with a purposeful stride, and as he did his cell phone suddenly went off. Without pausing at all Sam pulled the phone from his pocket and answered.

"Hey," Dean's voice greeted him. "Did you finally get everything set up?"

Sam knew he was talking about all the wards and things that he and Rivan had set up in and outside the house, as well as the property. "Yep," he answered as he reached the stairs and started up them. "Listen, I can't talk right now. I've got things to do. I'll call you later."

With that Sam hung up, not waiting for Dean's response. He knew if he'd allowed his brother to start asking questions Sam would never get off the phone. As Sam reached the top of the stairs he set his phone to vibrate and then slid it back into his pocket. Then he took a left and started down the hall where all the bedrooms were. He bypassed the door to the room that he and Rivan were sharing, noting that the door was closed, and instead went to one of the other rooms. It was the third door down on the left side, and without pausing Sam walked in.

No one had stayed in this particular room the last time, but just last night Sam had entered the room and had a look around. Rivan had been asleep, but Sam had found that he couldn't relax his mind well enough to gain the slumber Rivan had been enjoying, and so had gone wandering. There really wasn't anything very interesting about the room, but Sam had found something in there that he thought might be of good use to him later, and he'd made a mental note to remember the item when it was time.

With his thoughts still running rampant in his head, Sam walked over to the dresser that had been placed near the window. Weak sunlight filtered through the blinds, and Sam glanced out the window for a moment. It was another bitterly cold, windy day, and he was glad they'd gotten all the wards up already. With a sigh, Sam's eyes drifted back to the dresser. There was only one thing on it, and it was the one thing he needed.

Sam stared at the wooden hair brush that was sitting on the dresser, and the sigh he let out this time was much heavier. He reached out and picked it up. It felt heavy in his hand. The thing was made of real wood, and it was thick and dark. The head of the brush was rather large and oval shaped, and the black bristles on it were clean and free of hair. For a moment Sam wondered how long it had been here, but he shrugged it off as unimportant. Sam studied the back of the brush for a moment. As heavy as it was, he knew it would pack quite a wallop, and truth be told, it was necessary. He hated that it was, but he knew he had to get Rivan's attention. This time he didn't think his hand and belt would do the trick. No, this time he had to use something a bit more serious.

Gritting his teeth, Sam turned and left the room, the hair brush clutched in his right hand. A few seconds later he made it to the room he and Rivan were sharing, and without knocking he opened the door. As the door was swinging open he heard a gasp, and when he stepped in he saw Rivan sitting on the bed. The first thing he noticed was the fact that she still had her jeans on. Sam felt his temper go up a notch. The second thing he noticed was that she paled quickly as he walked into the room, but she still had a look of defiance on her pretty face.

Sam welcomed the look, because it helped keep his stern look firmly in place as he closed the door. "You wanna tell me why those jeans are still on?" he asked sharply. He shoved the hair brush in his pocket for a moment, and then propped his hands on his hips.

For a moment Rivan's eyes strayed to the brush, and her gaze lingered on it. She shifted nervously on the bed and Sam saw her swallow, but when she looked up at him her eyes still held plenty of defiance. "They're still on because I didn't want to take them off," she snapped at him, her voice full of a serious brat's attitude. "Duh," she added with a roll of her eyes.

Another increase in Sam's temper caused him to press his lips together in a thin line. "Okay, fine," he snarled at her. She paled a bit more but hung onto her stubborn attitude. She was really over doing the whole _I-want-to-piss-him-off-as-much-as-I-can _thing. "You want to do this the hard way?" Sam growled as he turned and headed for the writing desk that was on the other side of the room. "We'll do it the hard way," he added as he reached the armless, straight back chair that was sitting in front of the desk.

He grabbed the chair and dragged it away from the desk, moving it to the center of the room. When he was done with that he dropped the hair brush on the floor next to the chair on the left side, and then turned back to Rivan. She was still sitting on the bed, and now Sam could see that she was trembling a little. She looked up at him, and as soon as their eyes met Sam started toward her, his body language screaming of anger and the promise of serious consequences for crossing him.

That look of his must have been rather alarming, because Rivan suddenly jumped off the bed. "Stop!" she cried out, holding her hands up, palms facing him. Her attitude was gone, replaced by a look of bone shaking nervousness. Perhaps the little brat finally realized how far she was pushing him. Sam paused and glared at her, and she bit down on her lower lip. "I'll take them off now," she told him, her voice much softer.

"Great," Sam said, his tone dry. "Go ahead, then," he added as he crossed his arms. For a moment she didn't move, and then finally she lowered shaking hands to the button on her jeans. Because she was now properly nervous, it took her a few moments to get the button undone. But finally she got it, and then her small fingers worked the zipper down. Sam remained intensely quiet as she did, and his hard silence continued as she began tugging her jeans down.

Sam watched as the denim slid down her smooth, toned legs. Once she had them pulled down below her pretty knees, she sat down on the edge of the bed so she could take them all the way off. Finally she got them tugged off, and she gathered them in one shaking hand and threw them across the bed. Once that was done she sat there staring down at her feet, which were covered in soft, dark blue socks.

"Good," Sam said, his tone still sharp and stern. "But since you didn't listen the first time I gave that order, you're going to pay a price for that. An extra price," Sam added, and Rivan looked up at him. "I'd say…oh, about ten extra with the hair brush. Once we get to that stage, of course," he told her, hazel eyes colliding with dark blue.

Rivan's eye grew round at his words. "No!" she cried out, her tone a mixture of dread and defiance.

"Oh, you don't want ten? Okay then, let's make it fifteen. Is that a better number for you?" Sam fired back at her.

Now Rivan's mouth dropped open. "No!" she wailed again, and this time her voice carried only notes of the deepest dread. "Sam, please! Please, don't!"

Sam shook his head. "Too late, baby," he told her. "You disobey, you get extra. You complain about that extra, and you get more tacked on. And if you continue to complain," he added loudly when her mouth flew open. "I'll add another five onto that. Make it an even twenty." Sam paused and watched her, warning her with his eyes not to cross him further. "You want twenty?" he demanded after another few silent moments had passed.

Rivan shook her head instantly. "No sir," she told him. "I don't. Please, Sam. Please don't," she begged.

"I'm not doing anything, Rivan. You're the one that's racking up the numbers. It's all strictly up to you. I told you before you went upstairs not to cross me. And I told you what to expect if you did. You went ahead and disobeyed, so you're gonna pay a price for that. Just like I promised. And you know good and well that I mean what I say. Right? I mean, have I ever struck you as someone who shovels out a lot of BS?"

Rivan stared up at him for a moment, twisting her fingers nervously. "No, sir," she answered softly.

"Well then, there you go. I gave you plenty of warnings, just like I always do. But you always have to test me, don't you?"

"No, sir, but—"

"ENOUGH!" Sam cut her off with a loud snarl. She cringed and lost what little color she had regained. "I'm not arguing with you about this anymore! Got it?"

Rivan said nothing, just nodded, and then wrapped her arms around herself as she went back to studying her small feet. Sam waited a few more seconds, making sure she was done. When it seemed she was, he dropped his arms and started toward her. She looked up quickly when she heard him move, and her eyes got bigger as he got closer.

Sam said nothing as he stopped right in front of her. He held his hand out to her, and for a moment she eyed it anxiously. She licked her lips in a nervous manner, hesitated, and then slowly placed her hand in his. Sam noticed, not for the first time, how small her hand was compared to his. It looked so delicate cradled there in his rough palm, and despite his anger, he gently closed his fingers over hers. She looked up at him, and Sam didn't take his eyes off of her as he pulled her to her feet.

As soon as she was up Sam turned and started toward the chair he had placed in the middle of the room. As they drew closer to it, Rivan started to sniffle and, once they reached it, she started to cry a little. "I'm sorry," she moaned at him as Sam sat down, keeping her hand in his. "Sam, I'm so sorry!"

"I already told you, Rivan," he replied as he looked up at her. "Punishment first. Then forgiveness." Rivan let out a devastated moan, and it hit Sam so hard he couldn't stop himself from running his thumb gently over the back of her hand. Rivan's tears slowed a little as she looked at him in surprise, but the moment of comfort was over.

Without a word Sam drew her closer, pulling her over to stand beside him on his right. He let go of her hand only to reach up and get a firm grip on her left upper arm, and with the unfortunate ease of someone who had done it often, he pulled her down, guiding her across his strong thighs. Rivan let out a whimper as she went down, and as soon as she was settled across his lap she wrapped her left hand around the rung of the chair, while her right hand clutched Sam's left ankle. Sam felt the grip of her small fingers through the denim of his jeans, and as he adjusted her she tightened her grip a little. Sam suppressed a sigh as he wrapped his left arm around her waist, and then he quickly pulled up the back of her sweater with his free hand.

He was greeted by the sight of a pair of lacy boy shorts, her favorite kind of panties and the ones that defined her butt nicely. Sam hardly ever failed to admire her when she wore them, but right now his mind was not on any kind of sexual wave length. He found himself wishing otherwise. There were a lot of things he much rather do with Rivan than blister her beautiful little butt.

But if wishes were actually granted then there would be no reason for Rivan to be over his lap right now, body trembling with gut wrenching anticipation. She had lost her defiance quickly, proving again that she had only exercised the brat in her to make sure that he was properly angry. Sam shook his head. That had been totally unnecessary, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Rivan suddenly snapped out, showing her knack for switching into brat-gear in the blink of an eye. "Surely the big, strong Sam Winchester isn't going to chicken out?" she sneered.

Sam snorted. "Only in your very farfetched dreams, baby," he growled at her, and he lifted his hand high in the air, directly over her quivering cheeks. He brought his hand down fast but not as hard he could have. But despite that the smack was sharp and loud, and Rivan jerked when his hand made connection. She made no noise though, and soon Sam settled into a pattern of quick, sharp smacks, his hand going from one cheek to the other.

That's the way it went for the next several minutes, with Rivan remaining relatively still and quiet. "Rivan," Sam suddenly said between smacks. "There's something I really need to know," he told her as he began to increase the force of his smacks a bit. He waited for a moment to see if she would respond, but she said nothing, so he continued. "I want to know exactly what caused you to go to that cemetery even after you heard, with your own ears, Cas say that your presence would make beating James near impossible." Sam delivered a few more swats and then paused, waiting. All he got was silence. "Why did you go to the cemetery, Rivan?" Sam demanded, allowing a strong surge of anger to invade his tone.

More silence met his demand, and then Rivan sniffled. She drew in a deep, shuddering breath, and at that moment Sam realized his smacks had been more effective than he had thought. She had just somehow managed to stay quiet while she cried. He had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to maintain her silence for much longer.

Sam waited a few more seconds for an answer, and when he didn't get one he hauled off and smacked her hard across her rear. This time Rivan actually gasped and then let out a little moan of pain, a sound that Sam forced himself to ignore. "Answer me, Rivan," he ordered, his voice hard and commanding. "Why did you go to the cemetery even after you heard what Cas said?"

"I don't know!" she told him, her tone translating the pout she was obviously wearing.

"You don't know?" Sam repeated, outraged. "No way. We are not playing that game, Rivan. How could you not know? You're the one that did it!" he added before he started up the spanking again. Now the smacks were much harder and a lot faster, and Sam got more of a response from the brat across his lap.

"Ow!" she wailed as she tried to squirm away from his hand. "Owwww, Saaam!"

"I want an answer, Rivan!" he told her, not pausing at all.

"I had to be there, Sam!" she howled at him as the grip on his ankle tightened. "I was trying to protect you!"

"Protect me?" Sam echoed loudly, his hand pausing. "Seriously, Rivan? You're gonna keep using that reason? Why? It doesn't work on me. You wanna know why? Because it's not _**your**_ job to protect _**me**_. It's _**my**_ job to protect _**you**_. That's why you were sent to me and Dean. For protection. This is the same conversation we had the first time I spanked you in this house. You remember that, Rivan?"

"Yes sir, but—"

"No, there's no argument to that, Rivan," Sam cut her off. "It's plain and simple. Black and white. There are no shades of gray as far as that goes. _**I **_protect _**you**_. Not the other way around. Why would you think you could anyway? What makes you think that you can protect me from a world that I know more about than you ever will? I grew up in this world, Rivan. I was trained at an early age to protect people like you from all the monsters that roam around the earth. You didn't know _anything _about this world until two years ago. Everything you know now, I taught you. And what you've learned from me, it doesn't even cover half of what I know. So when I tell you to stay put because the situation is too dangerous for you, you can bet that order is based on experience and knowledge. I'm not _guessing_, Rivan. Do you think I'm playing guessing games with your _life _when I tell you to stay put?"

"No, sir," Rivan whimpered out. "I don't think that."

"So then why do you ignore my orders when all I'm trying to do is protect you?" Sam demanded, keeping just enough self control over his temper.

For several moments Rivan was quiet. She was so quiet for so long Sam thought she wasn't intending on answering him, and he was just about to start the spanking up when she spoke. "Because I'm exactly what you said I was earlier," she whispered, though loud enough for him to hear.

"Oh yeah? And what is that?" Sam asked, though he already knew the answer. He wanted to hear her say it.

Rivan took a deep breath and squirmed across Sam's lap. "Because I'm a stubborn, spoiled little brat," she told him quietly, her soft voice quivering. "Because I want things to go my way no matter what you say. I believed that I knew better than you did. I thought I could help and protect you that night. It didn't matter what I heard Cas say. It didn't matter what you said to me. I…I thought I could take James on. I thought I alone could take him down. I convinced myself that was the only way the battle could be won."

Sam drew in a deep, slow breath as he began to rub her backside. "You don't have a specific reason why you thought that?" he asked. "Other than the fact that you're a stubborn brat?"

Rivan let out a shuddering sigh that almost turned into a sob. "Because I thought I had something special in me that could stop James!" she moaned out.

Sam paused in his rubbing. "Why would you think that, Rivan? What led you to believe you alone could kill a vampire King, when some of the best hunters around couldn't do it on their own?"

"I don't really know," she told him. "I just…thought that."

"And now you know how wrong you were," Sam said as he went back to rubbing her butt.

Rivan whimpered again. "Yes, sir," she whispered.

"And you know you should have listened to me." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, sir," Rivan said again, this time in a whimpering moan.

"And I'm willing to bet, at the time when you were plotting behind my back while looking me in the eye and lying to me, you knew you should be listening to me and planning on staying behind." Again, it was not a question.

For a moment Rivan didn't respond, and then suddenly she began to sob, and rather loudly at that. Sam imagined it was a response to his comment about plotting behind his back while lying to his face. "Yes, sir!" she howled. "I knew I should have. I knew then I should be listening to you, and not planning to go against you. I knew it," she moaned again, the words garbled due to her sobbing.

Sam's heart ached terribly with every sob she let out. But it was not time to back down. It was, in fact, time to get serious. "So you know now just how much you deserve this spanking," Sam said as he stopped rubbing her butt. Rivan sputtered out a reluctant acknowledgement to his words, and Sam adjusted her a little, since her squirming had moved her around on his lap a bit.

"Okay then," Sam said, allowing a lot of his anger to come flooding back. "Let's get it done." Before Rivan could respond to that, Sam started the spanking up again. This time the blows were a lot harder and a lot faster. Since she was already sobbing, Rivan continued to do so, but Sam noticed how she was actually trying to stay still and take her spanking. That was a huge difference compared to the way she usually was during a spanking. Usually she screamed her head off and begged him to stop all during the spanking, and while doing that she always tried her best to avoid his hand. But not this time. This time Sam's target stayed still. Well, as still as she could manage. Which, he had already noted, was a big deal for her.

For the next several minutes the only sound in the room was the sound of Sam's hand cracking down across Rivan's backside, along with her sobs, which were starting to get louder in response to the fact that the spanking was starting to get worse. Sam kept it up for another few minutes, until finally he could feel a good deal of heat through those panties of hers. Without a word he stopped and began pulling the lacy things down.

Sam fully expected to get a shriek of protest when he started this. He did get a response from her, but it wasn't as loud or insistent as it usually was. Rivan whimpered a little and the grip on his ankle tightened noticeably. Sam said nothing as he started in on her bare skin. It already had a rosy tinge, and he was determined to eventually bring it around to a bright cherry red. He had to take a moment to feel bad for her, and then he had to take a moment to get mad at her again. His point had to be made.

For another several minutes he worked hard to achieve that. He focused on her cheeks for quite a while, and sometimes he would just go at one for a few minutes. Sam knew Rivan _hated _that, and when he did it she actually shrieked and started to cry harder. But still she had yet to beg him to stop. He had to admit that he was impressed, but he didn't think she'd much care about that right now.

Figuring her cheeks had had enough attention for the moment, Sam turned to her sit spot, and Rivan let out a devastated howl. She objected to punishment on that part of her rear more than her cheeks, and Sam couldn't say that he blamed her. Unfortunately for her, he spent a good deal of time on this area, and by the time he was done the rosy tinge had turned a few shades darker, both on her sit spot and her cheeks.

Sam paused for a moment and began to gently rub her heated cheeks. Rivan continued to cry while he did, and Sam took a deep breath. He stopped rubbing. The sound of Rivan's cries went on, each cry stabbing him in the heart while instinct demanded that he scoop her up in his arms and kiss away her tears. But he couldn't. Not yet. Bracing himself, he leaned down and picked up the hair brush. He had dropped it on the floor on the left side, and with the way Rivan was lying across his lap, the brush was right by her head. So of course, she did not miss it when he picked it up. She let out a loud wail when she saw Sam's hand curl around the handle of the brush, and her whole body tensed up even more.

For the first time since Sam had started, she begged him not to continue. "Noooo," she moaned through her sobs. "Please! No, no, no, I'll be good, I'll be good! Sam, I swear I'll be good!"

Sam closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep, quiet breath. He was still for a heartbeat or two, and then he opened his eyes. "Rivan, I want you to think about what you did," he began, his voice firm but soft. "I want you to _really _think about it. You deliberately put yourself in danger. You deliberately put everyone else in danger. Me, Dean, Jo, Ellen, Bobby, and the others. Even Eden and Missouri. If we had all died in that cemetery, what do you think James would have done next? He would have gone to Bobby's house, and killed Missouri and Eden. Your best friend, the one who is more like a sister to you, could have been killed that night. I could have been killed. Everyone could have been killed. Hell Rivan, we almost were."

"You went out to that cemetery after you heard Cas say you couldn't be there because it could get everyone killed. You were selfish and reckless. With your life and everyone else's. Because you're such a brat, you did all that. Almost caused all that pain. I know you're better than that, Rivan. You are a good person, but you make wrong choices. Seriously wrong choices. I know you can do better. And you will. You _are _going to learn. You're not going to make these kinds of choices ever again, because you're capable of making better ones. You deserve this spanking, Rivan. You deserve every bit of it. Because what you did…" Sam trailed off for a moment, and then took a deep breath. "I'm disappointed in you and your actions, Rivan," he told her very quietly. "And, I'm ashamed of you."

A terrible silence followed his words, but that silence only lasted a few seconds. It was broken by an awful, heart wrenching sob, the kind that made Sam's own heart wither inside him. He knew his words were strong and harsh. But he knew they needed to be said. He hated it. But he loved Rivan enough to teach her this hard lesson. He loved her enough to do anything to keep her alive and with him.

So without any kind of hesitation, he lifted the hair brush high and brought it crashing down on the center of Rivan's butt. The poor girl screamed in shock and pain, and now Sam felt the bite of her fingernails through his jeans as the hand on his ankle locked it into a death grip. Sam ignored her sobs and her fingernails as he popped her left cheek with that wooden brush. Rivan howled and bucked across his lap, wailing and crying terribly.

Sam popped her on her right cheek this time, and got the same reaction, only stronger. Sam took a deep breath, blocked out her wails as best as he could, concentrated on being very careful with the way he was spanking her, and then started peppering her butt with that brush. He struck one cheek and then the other in quick succession. For the first time since the spanking started, Rivan started to wiggle and squirm terribly, and at one point the hand that had been holding his ankle flew up, trying to block her butt from the next blow. Sam came very close to hitting her hand with the brush, and without thinking his left hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. He pinned her hand to her back, and she howled.

"Rivan, I almost hit your hand with this brush!" Sam told her. "Don't you ever, _ever_ put your hand back here like that again! I could have seriously hurt you hand with this damn thing! What is wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry!" she shrieked as she sobbed. "Didn't mean to, it hurts so much, Sam!"

"Yeah, I'm sure it does hurt," Sam told her. "But you want to know what hurts more? Watching the woman I love walk onto a battlefield when she had promised she wouldn't. The shock that put me in…and the fear. It was hell, Rivan. And if that wasn't bad enough, you walked out with a loaded gun pointed at your head. Do you have any idea what kind of agony I went through when I saw you like that? And to make things even better, James had some kind of paralyzing spell on me, and I literally could not lift a finger to help you. All I could do was sit there and watch, hoping and praying that you wouldn't be killed right before my eyes, with me unable to stop it."

Sam took a very deep breath and then went on. "Do you know how that kind of helplessness feels, Rivan?" he asked her quietly. She moved slightly and let out a low, miserable moan. "It feels worse than any pain the world can inflict. Any kind of torture anyone can think of. What I went through that night beats all of that. And that's just talking about how I felt when you walked into that cemetery. I suffered with that pain all throughout the fight, only that pain was multiplied by a million by that point. I was so scared of losing you. It was like something was eating me alive from the inside. And that moment when you told James you'd blow your brains out all over the cemetery if he hurt me…" Sam trailed off as the agony that he was describing took hold of him yet again. His words wakened it and sent it on its hellish mission to destroy him.

Sam had to sit there quietly and fight that back. As he fought to get it under control, Rivan sobbed across his lap, the sound remorseful and terrible. Despite the fact that he was so furious with her, his heart reacted to her pain, and he found himself giving her back a comforting rub even as his mind fought to calm itself. Finally he was able to speak again.

"It can never happen again, Rivan," he told her. "Ever. It was all too much. So," he added, shaking off the last of the pain and getting back to the business at hand. Quite literally. " I know this hurts, but baby, you need it. All of it. And you're gonna get it."

Not giving her time to answer, Sam started in on her butt again, with her hand still trapped in his, keeping it pinned down. Rivan's loud sobbing picked up again, only now she was kicking her legs something fierce. Sam paused again and placed the brush on her back. Then in one quick movement he got her legs pinned between his own legs, trapping them as well so she couldn't kick.

Rivan let out a long, devastated howl that made Sam thankful that they didn't have neighbors. His heart breaking but filled with determination, Sam picked the brush up again and continued. He paddled her with that brush until her cheeks glowed. Rivan sobbed and howled in a way he had never heard her do. And even though he had her restrained, she still struggled, but it got her nowhere.

Sam gave her cheeks a few more good smacks, and then he turned the brush onto her sit spot. Rivan screeched, and Sam watched as her buttocks clenched in reaction to the spanking. Sam held onto his strength and determination, and kept going. He was careful not to put all of his physical strength into his blows, because the brush was so heavy and he knew if he did, he'd end up hurting her way more than he ought to. But he did keep the smacks firm and quick. There was no point in doing this if he didn't do it right.

The spanking went on, and soon Rivan stopped struggling. She went limp and just sobbed as Sam rained down punishment onto her backside. After a while, Sam changed the spanking up a little. First he popped her sit spot on the left five times in a row, and then he moved the brush up to punish her left cheek, which meant she got five blows on it as well. Then he did the same to her right cheek and sit spot. Rivan sobbed and sobbed, and the sound made Sam sick.

But he didn't stop, not for another few minutes. While he continued to bring the brush down on her butt, he began talking again. "You know something," he began, not pausing. "I don't understand you and your behavior. I do everything I can for you. I take care of you, I protect you, I try to make sure you're as happy as you can be considering the lifestyle we lead. I am in love with you, and I would do anything for you. But you can't even do one thing for me."

For a moment Sam paused in his speech, but not in the spanking he was dishing out. "You can't even give me something as simple as your cooperation, Rivan," he finally continued. He moved the brush down, giving her sit spot some more attention. Rivan's crying increased, but Sam forced himself to ignore it.

"When I ask you to do something in order to keep yourself safe, you act like I'm asking for something terrible. You can't even follow a simple request to stay put so you won't get hurt. That is the one and only thing I ever ask from you, Rivan. But you're so damn stubborn you can't even do that for me. You know, you should really be ashamed of yourself for being so immature and reckless. And thoughtless," Sam added as he went back to smacking her cheeks. "I don't know why you act this way. I know you're a good person. You're better than this, Rivan. And you know it."

Rivan let out a loud, drawn out sob in response to everything he had said, and Sam sighed. He spent a few more minutes paddling her bare butt, and when he finally stopped, Sam felt Rivan's whole body unclench. She was shuddering, sobbing, and gasping as she lay over his lap, and while she did Sam balanced the brush on her back for a moment. Then he began to rub her bottom very, very gently. The heat that radiated off of it shocked and amazed Sam. And it made him feel terrible for her.

Sam said nothing as he continued to rub her glowing bottom. He couldn't believe how bright red it was. Well, he had been going for that, after all. Sam shook his head and moved his hand up to rub her back for a while. He did that for what seemed like a very long time before Rivan's sobbing finally began to lessen. Not saying a word, Sam continued to run his hand over her back lovingly until the only sound coming from Rivan was little whimpers.

"Rivan?" Sam said quietly, his hand pausing in mid rub.

Rivan inhaled sharply and whimpered. "Yes, s-s-sir?" she stuttered out, her voice so tiny and pitiful that it reminded Sam of a little girl's voice.

"Did you learn anything from that?" he asked her softly.

Rivan let out a little moan and shifted slightly. Sam still had her legs trapped between his, so she couldn't move much. "Yes, sir," she nearly wailed. She sounded absolutely miserable.

Sam had no doubt that she was. "What did you learn?" he asked, his tone gentle but firm. Silence met his words. "Rivan," Sam said again, his tone nothing but firm now. "Tell me what you learned."

Rivan let out another low moan, and the hand Sam held twitched. He let it go, and she moved her hand to where it was resting on his left knee. She squirmed a little and twisted her body just a bit, and Sam placed a heavy hand on the small of her back.

"Be still," he ordered her, and instantly she stopped moving. "I want an answer to my question, Rivan," he told her. "What have you learned from all of this so far?"

She hesitated for a few more seconds, and then finally answered him. "To be a better person," she half wailed out before she started crying a little.

Sam was quiet. "Tell me what that means to you," he requested. Rivan paused a little in her crying, and Sam sensed her uncertainty. "Tell me what you think you need to do to be a better person," he explained further, making his tone gentle and soft.

For a moment Rivan just cried, and Sam waited patiently. Finally, she answered. "It means…" she began tearfully, only to trail off. She let out a groan and tried again. "I…I need to listen to you from now on," she told him in a moan. "I need to listen to you and do what you say when all you're trying to do is keep me safe. And I need to not think I know more than you do. And I need to make better decisions. And not to be such a selfish brat. Or a spoiled brat," she added with a tiny wail.

Sam waited for a moment. He was looking for her to add one more thing, one certain thing. If she would just say it, it would bring this all to an end much faster. And he wanted her to say it on her own. Not because he prodded her into it. But the minutes passed, and all she did was cry. Sam sighed. Damn.

"Shh," Sam murmured as he started to rub her back again. "Okay, shh. Those are all good things to learn and understand. Those are things you really do need to work on a bit more. You're very stubborn and hard headed. That needs to stop. I've told you that more than once. You can't be that way in my world. It'll get you killed. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir!" she sobbed out.

"Okay," Sam said quietly. "Good. Now I want you to listen to me. I'm gonna give you a few more with this brush." Sam paused a moment, expecting a violent reaction to that. While he didn't get that, he did get a horrified wail and a new round of tears. But she didn't beg him not to, and she didn't struggle. Again, Sam was impressed, and even a little proud.

Sam continued, still rubbing her back. "When I'm done with this, once you calm down a little, you're gonna go stand in that corner by the desk."

Rivan's entire body went very still at that, and her sobbing even slowed down. "Yeah, you heard me right," Sam told her, adding an extra dose of sternness to his voice. He wanted to discourage any protests or struggles about it as much as he could. This was a new thing, after all. He had never made her stand in a corner before. To be honest, the main reason why he was doing it was because she needed a break. And, quite frankly, so did he.

"You're gonna stand in the corner like a naughty little kid; because that's the way you behave most of the time," Sam continued. "That's the kind of behavior that led you to follow us to the cemetery that night. If you want to behave like a naughty little kid that doesn't want to listen, then that's exactly how I'm gonna treat you. You're gonna go to that corner and stand there until I tell you otherwise. Is that clear?"

Rivan let out a little wail, but nodded. "Yes, sir!" she sobbed out, breaking Sam's heart all over again.

"Good," Sam said again, his tone a little softer now. "When you cooperate, everything goes much more smoothly. Now," he continued on, his tone brisk. "Once you're out of the corner, you're gonna come back over here, because you've got fifteen more coming with this hair brush. Do you remember what those fifteen are for?"

For a minute or two Rivan just cried, but then she finally got out her answer. "For disobeying and not taking my jeans off when you told me to!" she moaned out between her gasping sobs.

"Yep," Sam said, forcing himself to turn stern and strict again. "I've told you time and time again. You don't listen, you pay a price. It would make your life a lot easier if you'd learn that and remember it."

Sam didn't bother waiting for a response to that. He just launched right back into the spanking as though there had been no pause. He increased the force of the smacks just a little bit this time. Soon the room was filled once more with Rivan's soul shredding crying.

Sam thought about scolding her a bit more as he spanked her, but figured he had already said everything that needed to be said. And she was in no condition to answer any more questions, either. It was best just to stay quiet and focus only on her punishment. And he did just that. He rained fire down on the butt of the woman he loved, and with each smack that he delivered, he prayed that the lesson was getting through that stubborn head of hers.

After having her in his world for two years now, he couldn't begin to imagine his life without her. Not even for a second. He had lost a lot of people in his life. But he was done with that. The world would no longer steal from Sam Winchester. He would keep this woman by any means. And if the only means to achieve that was by lighting her beautiful backside on fire whenever she stupidly put herself in danger, than so help him God, he was going to do it. In the exact same way he was doing it now.

So for the next several minutes, Sam sat there and thoroughly spanked every inch of Rivan's butt. No area of skin was granted any mercy from the heavy hair brush that he was wielding. Rivan's sobbing continued of course, but she still remained limp, not struggling. The only movement Sam got from her was when the brush connected with her naked skin. She jumped terribly every time.

Finally after what seemed like hours, Sam stopped again. This time he dropped the brush on the floor, and then began rubbing soothing circles into Rivan's back. The hand that had been on his knee was still there, and Rivan was now digging her fingernails into that part of his leg. Sam let her. It wasn't like she was hurting him, after all.

Rivan's body was shuddering as she rested across Sam's lap, and as she cried he stopped rubbing her back long enough to reach down and completely remove her panties. It would make walking easier for her when she finally got up, and it wasn't like she was going to need them any time real soon.

As Sam removed her panties, he could tell she didn't even realize it. Then quite suddenly, she did. Her whole body tensed up again, and she attempted to reach back and try to grab her panties so she could pull them back up. She failed and that frustrated her.

"What are you doing?" she half moaned, half sobbed out. "I want my panties back!"

"Trust me when I say you won't want anything to do with them for a while, Rivan," Sam told her as he finished pulling them off. He dropped them behind his chair and then continued to rub her back. He did that for a few more minutes while Rivan moaned and whimpered, and then he patted her back.

"Come on, let's get you up," he told her. "I don't know about you, but I'd like to get this all over with." Rivan said nothing as Sam carefully helped her to her feet, and once she was there he caught her hand and pulled her closer to him, guiding her to stand between his legs.

Sam gazed up at her as she stood there. Currently she was rubbing both her eyes with the back of her hand, and was refusing to look at him. Sam let go of her arm and wrapped both of his around her small waist. "Look at me," he ordered her. She moaned but dropped her hand from her eyes and then rested it on his shoulder. Her eyes met his briefly but then danced away.

Sighing, Sam reached up and got her by the chin. "Look at me, Rivan," he told her again, gently forcing her to. She didn't fight him, which was very smart of her, and soon her tear filled eyes were gazing down at him. He could see the embarrassment and the shame in her pretty eyes, and he longed to chase those feelings away. Not yet, though. Not yet.

"You're going to go stand in the corner now," Sam told her firmly, and her bottom lip began to tremble. "You're going to stay there until I tell you otherwise, and you're not going to move. Do you understand me, Rivan?"

"Yes, sir," she said in a tiny, shivering whisper.

"Okay," Sam said, softening his tone just a little. "Good. Go on, then," he added, giving her leg a pat before letting her go. Without hesitation she moved over to the corner. Sam watched her. As she approached the corner she paused, staring at it as though it was a hangman's noose. Then, wrapping her arms around herself, she moved forward until her nose was right in the corner. She was still and silent for a moment, and then she started to cry quietly. Every once in a while she let out a pitiful, shaky sounding "Oh" that she drug out a little as she cried.

Sam swore silently as his aching heart shuddered inside of him. Suppressing a soul weary sigh, he leaned back in his chair. He hated this. He hated every second, every minute of this. But he would have to be strong just for a little while longer. Because unfortunately for him and Rivan, he had yet to deliver one of the most important parts of this lesson. He still had to make her understand the pain he had suffered from her deliberate lies. It would be the hardest part to teach her, and the hardest for her to take in.

Fighting the urge to swear loudly and harshly, Sam closed his eyes and flinched as he listened to the whimpers coming from the corner. Taking a deep, quiet breath, he dug up the last bit of strength from the bottom of his soul, preparing himself for what had to be done.

**********X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X**********

_Oh_. _Oooh oh oh oh. _With my arms wrapped firmly around myself and my nose directly in the corner, I stared at the plain white paint that someone had been silly enough to coat the walls with. I'd never been more miserable in my entire life. My whole body was shivering and trembling, and I was still crying. But I just couldn't seem to stop the tears. I figured that was forgivable, though. I did have many good reasons to cry, after all.

For one thing, I was standing in a corner. The last time I'd been forced to do that, I'd been five years old. Now I was _twenty_-five years old, and my boyfriend had ordered me into the corner and told me not to move until he said otherwise. I thought that was a pretty good reason to cry. I mean, come on, it's embarrassing! And plus this was the first time Sam had ever made me do this. I had to wonder what had driven him to do it in the first place. Guess it didn't matter much, though. No matter what his reason for it was, I still had to stand here, and I couldn't change that.

So yes, that was worth crying about. But then came the next good reason to cry that rather trumped the corner. The state of my rear end. This spanking had been the very worst spanking I have ever experienced in my entire life. Words could not describe the pain. It felt like my butt had been dipped in molten lava. Okay, maybe that was over doing it a bit. It felt more like someone had sat me down on a burning skillet.

Or, it felt like I had a severe sunburn. There were several ways to describe it, but the point is, it _hurt_. That hair brush Sam had used on me was surely an evil contraption. I couldn't believe he had used it to spank me. It had brought about such pain that I could barely stand myself. Evil, nasty thing. Because of it, I would never look at my own hair brush the same way. I groaned silently as my butt throbbed terribly. I think that single, stupid little piece of wood with the false name 'hair brush' actually hurt more than Sam's belt. _Hair brush_. I don't think so. More like Hell Brush. That was a much more appropriate name for it.

I sniffled a little as I shifted from one foot to the other. Just that one little movement caused the invisible flames on my butt to flare up in their own version of a temper tantrum. I gasped rather loudly, and then without meaning to, my sobbing grew worse. Moaning in misery, I rested my forehead against the wall.

But despite how bad this physical pain was, I would gladly endure it double time if it meant getting rid of the mental and emotional pain I was suffering through. And this leads me to my best reason for my tears. Some of the things Sam had said during my spanking had nearly killed me. He was disappointed in me, and even worse, he was _ashamed _of me. Never in my two years of knowing him had he ever said anything like that to me. I was horrified and heartbroken.

I knew I was this way because I knew he had very good reasons to be disappointed and ashamed of me. I had lied to him and told him I would stay put and keep myself safe. I had taken advantage of his trust and trampled all over it; all in the name of pride and stubbornness. Sam was right. I never granted him the one thing he asked for now and then. Cooperation. When he asked me to stay safe and placed me somewhere that would ensure my safety, I never stayed put. I made the situation as difficult as I could, because I was that stubborn. As I had told myself earlier, it was the act of an immature, spoiled child.

Sam was good to me, and he loved me. I loved him in return, but despite that, I always behaved so bratty when he asked that I stay safe. Why did I make such a big deal out of it? Of course he wanted me to stay safe. He had already lost a woman that he had loved and a few that he had cared about. He was desperate to make sure I stayed safe, so I'd be around for him.

What was so wrong with that? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The man had given so much of himself just to save people he didn't he even know. And he hardly ever got thanked for it. He deserved thanks from someone. But what did I give him? Headaches and ulcers. Well, not real sure about the ulcers. But probably. Either way you look at it, you can just scratch me off the list of candidates for Girlfriend of the Year. I was going to have to work harder on changing. I needed to be better. Not just for Sam's sake, but for the sake of my behind as well. But seriously, more so for the sake of Sam. He deserved to have a girlfriend that treated him well. One that listened and respected him. I had to try harder to be that girlfriend.

"Rivan," Sam suddenly said right in the middle of my vow to be better.

I flinched a little. "Yes, sir?" I asked timidly. I knew what was coming, and I was dreading it. But I was not going to be difficult.

"Come back over here. We need to finish this," he told me. He sounded tired, but his tone was still stern.

Without any kind of hesitation, I turned and moved over to him. He watched me, and I noticed that hair brush was back in his hand. _Oh crap_. _Crap_, _crap_, _crap_! Despite my vow and the stern lecture that I had given myself, I still hated the Hell Brush. With a passion. Nothing would change that. But that didn't mean I was going to have a fit about it. I did, however, still think it was okay to cry a bit.

So I didn't worry too much when fresh tears started to fall as I approached Sam. I started to go stand over by his right side, since that's the side I always stood on when he pulled me over his lap. But he stopped me.

"No, come right here," he ordered, catching my arm and guiding me to stand in front of him.

I let him, and then I looked at him. "I want to say something first, please." I told him softly, forcing myself to look him right in the eyes.

I could tell my request surprised him, but soon the look of surprise was replaced with curiosity. "Okay," he said, propping his left hand on his leg as he leaned back in his chair. He studied me and waited.

I swallowed hard and then took a deep breath. I wanted to try to tell him everything that I had been thinking in the best way I could, without it taking too long or sounding odd when it came out. "I want you to know that…everything you said about me is true," I began, my voice soft but clear. "You have a lot of reasons to be disappointed in me. And…ashamed of me," I said, my voice catching on the word "ashamed". It was still hard to think about him being ashamed of me. "I just want you to know that I'm sorry for being such a brat, and I'm sorry I didn't give you the cooperation that you asked for. Your job is hard and stressful, and frightening. You give up so much just to save and protect people you don't even know. As well as the ones that you _do _know. Because of all of that, I should have at least been mature enough to listen to you, and to respect you. I promise I'll try harder to be a better girlfriend."

My voice cracked terribly then, and I started to cry harder. Without a word Sam dropped the brush he was holding. Then he reached out and pulled me closer to where I was standing between his legs. His arms wrapped around me tightly, securely, making me feel the way he always made me feel. Loved. Safe. Protected. I wrapped my arms around his neck and cried on his chest, and he reached up and stroked my hair.

"You are a good girlfriend," he told me quietly. "You always have been. You're just a little on the stubborn side, that's all. But I know you can do better. And I know you will." He gave me a gentle squeeze, and then patted my back. "Thank you for telling me all of that," he told me softly. I moaned and nodded, and we were both quiet for a few moments. "Come on," he finally told me, giving my back another pat. "Let's get this over with. I'm not having any more fun than you are."

Sniffling, I pulled back and wiped at my eyes. When I was done and glanced at him, I saw he had the Hell Brush in his hand again. I couldn't keep my bottom lip from trembling at the sight of it. But when he took my arm to guide me into position, I didn't fight him. But where he guided me did surprise me. Instead of making me stand on his right so he could pull me across his lap, he kept me where I was, turned me around, and guided me to lie across his left leg only.

In fact, he guided me way over his left leg. By the time I was fully situated, his left leg was directly under my hips while my upper body was closer to the floor. Shocked, my right hand came up and clutched at his leg, and suddenly Sam gave the back of my right thigh a tap, thankfully just with his hand.

"Put both your hands flat on the floor," he told me. Again I was caught by surprise, and for a moment I didn't move. Sam gave the back of my thigh another tap, this one a bit harder. "Hands on the floor, Rivan," he ordered, his tone sharper. "_Now_."

I cringed but did as I was told. Carefully I placed both of my hands flat on the floor, my fingers splayed out on the carpet. Sam moved me just a little bit more, and it was at that moment that I understood why he had put me here like this. In the position I was now in, my butt was sticking way up in the air, and my sit spot was thoroughly exposed. I squeezed my eyes shut as new, heavy sobs threatened to escape. I was distracted for a moment though, when Sam suddenly put his right leg on top both of mine. Then the sobs burst forth.

"Alright," Sam said, his voice suddenly very stern. It sent my heart into a frantic rhythm. "All of these are going to be right on your sit spot," he told me, patting my sit spot lightly with the brush. "These are going to be a lot harder than the others, because these are the last ones. They need to leave an impression. Do you understand me, Rivan?"

_I promise that all the other ones I got left a great impression already_. I thought to myself. But of course I didn't dare say that out loud. Instead I nodded and somehow managed to get out a "Yes, sir." It took me a moment, but I did it.

For a moment nothing happened, and then Sam began to rub my back. It only lasted for a few moments, though, but he gave me a gentle pat before stopping. Silence followed, and my whole body went tense. Then suddenly the first blow landed right across my sit spot. Oh my gosh, it hurt _so _much. My eyes flew open wide and my body jerked in response. My sobbing instantly turned into a terrible wailing, which I tried to control. But this was nothing like what I had gotten before. This was flat out horrible.

The second blow landed, and then the third, followed quickly by the fourth. The blows were fast, and I knew Sam was trying to get it over with as soon as possible. But the blows were so painful I couldn't help but to cry loud and hard. But not once did I try to squirm away. Not once did I beg him to stop. I hadn't begged him to stop at all since my punishment had started. Well, there had been that one time when he'd picked up the brush for the first time. I had broken down and begged him not to use it. But other than that, I hadn't done any begging. I was rather proud of myself, to be honest.

But as the blows continued, my resolve was tested terribly. I cried and cried, and at one point my fingers curled into the carpet and I pulled on it so hard I heard the sound of ripping and tearing. My eyes had been squeezed shut, but when I heard that they flew open. I only had time for a brief feeling of relief that I hadn't pulled the carpeting up at all.

The spanking continued, and my wailing picked up. I had lost count of the smacks. I was only supposed to get fifteen. Surely by now I must be close? It felt like I already suffered through twenty smacks. The brush struck hard and made a sharp thud sound each time it did, and I wondered how in the world I was ever going to sit down again. _With lots of cushions_. I told myself.

_**Whap**_! _**Whap**_! _**Whap**_! The sting of the brush was cruel and biting, and I couldn't stop the pain filled whimpers of "Oh!" that slipped past my lips. Then, finally, just when I thought I could take no more, Sam stopped. My entire body went limp with desperate relief. My sobs continued, and I closed my eyes and moaned.

"Alright," Sam said, speaking loud enough for me to hear him over my sobbing. "Okay. We're done. I'm not gonna hit you anymore."

My body relaxed further upon hearing this, and I let out a moan full of relief. I eased up on the grip I had on the carpet and forced myself to take deep breaths. Done. Finally. I had deserved every moment of it, but that didn't mean I wasn't glad to see the end. Now if I could only—

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a shocking and extremely painful smack on the butt, from the brush no less. I jumped violently and screamed. "OW!" I howled as my tears started up again. Frantic, I grabbed the carpet again, confused and horrified. "Sam, what are you—_**OW**_, _**OW**_, _**OW**_, _**OW**_! Sam, what are you doing? _**OWWWWWWW**_!" I screamed at the very top of my lungs as the brush struck again and again. I couldn't believe it was possible, but these smacks were worse than any of the ones I'd gotten combined!

Then, just like that, it stopped. Sam took his leg off of mine, freeing me. Shocked and still sobbing, I shoved myself off his lap and got to my feet. I stumbled a little and Sam grabbed my arm to steady me. My mind spinning, I placed my hand on his shoulder and looked at him. "You said we were done!" I nearly yelled at him. "You said you weren't going to hit me anymore!"

Taking a deep breath, Sam tossed the hair brush on the floor, and then looked me right in the eyes. "Now you know how much it hurts when someone you love lies to you," he told me very, very quietly.

For a moment I didn't move. I just froze completely. Sam watched me, his eyes still stern, but now with a heavy dose of sadness in them. I could feel the color draining from my face, and I wilted. Then I opened my mouth and burst into loud, screeching, heartbroken sobs. I covered my face with both hands and literally howled into them.

Never had any one taught me such a hard lesson. No doubt it had been just as hard for Sam to deliver as it had been for me to take. But there was no doubt in my mind that he felt it was a lesson that had been needed badly. Of course, that still didn't make it any easier for me to take. But then, who liked to face hard lessons?

I didn't for sure, even if I did realize how much I deserved it. I continued to cry terribly, and after awhile Sam reached out and gently caught me by my upper arms. I didn't fight him as he pulled me toward him. I was too miserable and ashamed of myself. Sam said nothing as he brought me to stand right in front of him again, between his legs.

Then he drew me into his arms. He held me tightly, and soon I slipped my own arms around his neck. I clung to him desperately, sobbing loud and hard. Sam ran one hand up and down my back, talking softly to me as he did. As he held me, I turned my head and laid it on his shoulder, and then attempted to sputter out something between my heavy sobbing.

"Shh," Sam told me softly. "Try to calm down a little bit more before you try to talk."

I moaned a little but didn't try to talk again. Several minutes passed until it seemed like a whole hour had gone by. Sam held me the entire time, gently, tenderly. Finally my crying slowly began to die down. When I felt I could, I tried talking again. I started out a few times and failed, until finally I choked out one word I hoped Sam could understand.

"D-d-done?" I whimpered out at him.

Sam gave me a little squeeze. "You mean is your punishment over with?" he asked me gently. I nodded, and Sam reached up to stroke my hair. "Yeah, it's done, baby," he assured me. "It's done, and you're forgiven for everything."

I moaned again and my hold on him tightened even more. I spoke again, and my words were clearer now. "You're not…a-ashamed of me anymore?" I asked him, my tiny voice suddenly beginning to hitch as my tears started up yet again.

"No, of course not," Sam replied quickly, his voice firm. "I'm not ashamed of you, I'm not disappointed in you, and I'm not mad at you anymore. Not over anything. I promise, okay? It's all forgiven and you don't have to worry about it anymore. Okay?"

I whimpered and, still miserable in every way possible, I shifted from one foot to the other, not knowing what to do with myself. I did have to confirm one thing in my mind, though, no matter what he had said. I spoke again, and my voice was hoarse and strained with exhaustion. "You don't hate me for lying like I did, and hurting you so much?" I croaked out at him, pleased that I had gotten it out without stuttering.

"No, baby," Sam told me, and then he reached up and got me by my arms, pushing me back gently so he could look at me. I gazed up at him, my eyes streaming and my heart aching. "I told you, Rivan," he said softly. "Everything is forgiven. Including the lies you told. I know that was a painful lesson I just gave you, but I didn't give it so you could torture yourself with it for days on end. I only gave it to you so you could realize and truly understand just what you did with that lie of yours. And I gave it in hopes that you'll never lie to me again about something so serious," he added.

"I won't!" I cried out, my voice sounding pitiful. "I promise, I swear I won't, Sam!" I told him, desperate for him to believe me.

He smiled at me. "I believe you," he told me as he reached up to brush a strand of hair away from my eyes. Then suddenly the look on his face turned serious. "I do want you to know something, though. I'm going to take that hair brush with me when we leave," he said firmly. "If you ever deliberately do anything to put your life in danger again, you will get a spanking exactly like the one I just gave you. Maybe even a little worse. Do you understand me?"

I stared at him, my eyes wide and my heart beating in dread. He was going to take the Hell Brush with him? Crap. I had so hoped he'd leave it here. Even if he had, though, he could have always found another wooden hair brush along the way. Now he didn't have to worry about that. Great. I stared at him for a few more moments, and then I whimpered. "Yes, sir," I told him. "I understand."

"Good," Sam said, relaxing. "Try to calm down now, baby," he told me as he dropped a gentle kiss on my lips. "Here, step back," he added, patting my back. I did so, and once I was back far enough, he stood up.

Then he took my hand and led me into the bathroom. I stood there and watched as he got a washcloth from the cabinet and brought it to the sink. Still crying a little, I watched him run the cloth under cold water while I rubbed at my eyes, trying to get the tears to stop. I was still doing that when he turned the faucet off, but I stopped when he wrung the water out of the cloth.

Turning to me, he caught the hand that was still near my eye and pulled it down. "Keep it down," he told me softly as I dropped my hand to my side. I said nothing, and Sam began to wipe my face off with the cool cloth. It felt so good against my flushed skin, and I relaxed a little as he ran the cloth gently over my face.

"There," he said as he carefully wiped my eyes. "How's that?"

"Better," I said in a small voice. He paused and looked at me, and I blushed when our eyes met. I looked down quickly, and he caught my chin, gently forcing me to look back at him.

"You okay?" he asked me quietly, the concern in his eyes obvious.

I drew in a deep, ragged breath. "Yes, sir," I told him, my voice still small.

"You sure?" he persisted. I nodded. "Okay. Now. Is there anything you need to tell me, or want to tell me?"

I stared up at him for a moment, frowning. I shook my head. "No," I told him. Then, quite suddenly, exhaustion came and smacked me down, hard. "I'm just tired," I told him, and I swayed ever so slightly.

"Okay," Sam said, catching me quickly. "Come on, let's go lie down for a while."

My eyes went wide at the thought of my butt touching anything right now, but I kept my concerns to myself and let Sam lead me back into the bedroom. I found I didn't have to worry. When we approached the bed, Sam lay down on his back, and then pulled me over to him. He guided me to lie down on top of him, just like I had done that day at Bobby's, after he had gotten me cleaned up from the battle at the cemetery.

I snuggled as close to him as I could and rested my head on his chest. I could hear the steadying thumping of his heart, and the sound relaxed me like nothing else could. I sighed deeply and closed my eyes. Sam began to rub my back, and I enjoyed the feel of his strong hand moving up and down, relaxing and soothing taunt muscles.

Despite the fact that my butt was sorer than it had ever been, I felt content. My guilt and my shame had finally melted away. Now that Sam had forgiven me, I could work on forgiving myself. And, I could work on improving my behavior in order to avoid a punishment like this in the future. I never, ever wanted to see the Hell Brush again. As I had learned the hard way, a spanking with such an implement delivered the mother of all spankings. I couldn't hold back a shiver as I thought about it.

Sam felt it, of course. "You cold?" he asked me.

"Hmm," I moaned, sleepy. "Nope." Sam tightened his arms around me for a moment, and then he reached up and stroked my hair.

"Try to get some sleep," he whispered to me. "Everything is going to be okay."

I let out a little sigh. "I know," I said simply, and drifted off into a merciful, calming sleep while being held by the man I loved more than anything. I'd always known there would be a price to pay and, even though Sam had just given me one heck of a spanking, I still loved him just as much. And I always would.

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><p><strong>AN: So that's it for now! If you have a moment, please let me know what you think in a review. I hope you all enjoyed it well enough. There are two more chapters in this story, though I can't promise how soon I'll be able to update again. I do promise that I'll try not to take as long. Thank you all for reading, and thank you for your continued support.**


	22. The Vanishing Man

**A/N: ****I would like to start out my author's note by responding to Reading Delight's review. First off, I would like to acknowledge that you do have a right to your opinion. However, there are better ways to share your thoughts. I am more likely to think about what a reviewer has said if they say it politely. There are a few examples of reviewers kindly mentioning something about the story. Because of that, I thought about what they were saying. In the end I saw that they were right. If you want to share your opinions and make a difference, fine and great. But I strongly suggest you do it in a civilized manner. Otherwise, you will be ignored for the most part. Also, an author is even more likely to listen to you if you've reviewed in the past and at least pointed out things that you liked about the story. Friendly words make it easier to understand friendly criticism. **

**Now on to my next point. After looking at a certain story on your favorites list, I must say that your attack on my story was unfair and hypocritical in itself. The story I speak of is _Isabella Swan: Submissive_. In that story, Bella makes a conscious choice to enter into the life of a submissive. She does this because it is the kind of life she wants and needs. For my character Rivan, it is no different.**

**Her participation in the domestic discipline lifestyle is consensual in every way. She wants and needs this, just as Bella wants and needs the kind of relationship she has with Edward in that story. Rivan consented to a domestic discipline lifestyle with Sam. It may not have been a spoken agreement, but on more than one occasion I made it very clear that it was what she wanted from Sam. **

**I apologize for nothing. I have done nothing wrong. Domestic discipline can be practiced in many different ways. There is no wrong way to do it. But if you do not like how I present it, then do be sure to stay away from this story, and any future stories I write. Thank you for removing me from your alert lists. That was the best thing for you to do.**

**If there is anyone else out there that shares the opinion of Reading Delight then please stop reading my story. If I am on any of your alert lists, be sure to remove me. This is a domestic discipline story. It is not about abuse. I have read stories like this that was indeed very abusive. My story is nowhere near that. I will say it again. Rivan is a consenting adult. There is no way a relationship like this can happen without the cooperation of both people. I do not condone abuse and would never write about it.**

**I am writing my story the way I want to. If anyone does not agree with how I do it, go write your own story. But know that I have the freedom to write my story exactly the way I want to, just like all the other authors on this site. If domestic discipline is not your cup of tea, or if you don't like how _I _write it, the solution is very simple. Do not read my story! I have said this over and over in the past, and I am still doing so. This will be the last time I say it. From now on I will ignore any and all reviews that complain about how I am writing this story. So folks, don't waste your time. We have so little of it in this world. **

**I also want to make it very clear that I meant no offense to the author of _Isabella Swan: Submissive_. There is nothing wrong with that story. I was merely using it to make a point. My note here should not be viewed as an attack of any kind.**

****As to those that are enjoying my story and liked chapter twenty-one, thank you so much for your kind reviews and your continued support. I appreciate every single one of you more than you know. Now on to chapter twenty-two. I hope you enjoy it. This chapter is a lighter one with some happy fluffy moments. There are no spankings in this chapter, but in the beginning Sam and Rivan do have an intense conversation. But that is it. Thank you again for your kindness and support! Have a great day! ****

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><p>With an annoyed sigh I stretched my hand out toward the TV remote, which was resting on the coffee table in front of the couch. I'd been watching TV alone, lounging across the couch on my stomach because my butt was still too sore for me to sit on it for long periods of time. But I'd gotten bored with the TV, and now I picked up the remote and turned it off. Making a face at the blank screen, which gave me more entertainment then when the thing was on, I put the remote back on the coffee table and tucked my arms under my head. The silence in the room pushed down on me, and my loneliness mocked me. So far, this vacation was turning out to be pretty crappy.<p>

In the week that followed my spanking, Sam had gone back to being the sweet, gentle boyfriend that he was. Though, that was not the recipe that made up the crappy vacation. What was making it crappy was the fact that I didn't see my sweet, gentle boyfriend very much. I'd been under the impression that we were going to do things together, but so far we hadn't.

The most we did together was watch TV at night. Then I went to bed by myself, and Sam went into the office. Usually he stayed in there most of the night. He'd wander into our room close to dawn, sleep for a few hours, get up, take a shower, make us some breakfast, and then as soon as the kitchen was cleaned up, he was back in that office. The few times that I'd snuck a peek in there, he was always on his laptop, either typing away or glaring at the computer screen. Whenever he glanced up and caught me standing there, he always studied me for a moment before smiling at me and promising he'd be done soon. I recognized a dismissal when I heard one.

So for the entire week I'd been waiting for him to get done with whatever he was doing. I had the feeling that he was doing some kind of research for a job. The fact that he was doing it on our vacation was irritating. I'd asked him several times what he was doing, but every time he'd drop a kiss on my forehead, telling me not to worry about it. If I pushed him for a better answer, I only got a warning look in response. Because I was trying to behave better, that look had been enough to keep me from asking again.

But now I was getting tired of all the secrecy. I wanted my promised vacation, and darn it, I was going to get it. Made strong by my sudden determination to find out what was going on, I carefully pushed myself off the couch and left the living room. I hung a right outside of the door and headed down the hall to the office. I was going to see if I could find out what exactly Sam was doing, and I was going to see if I could convince him to stop and enjoy the vacation he'd wanted us to have so badly.

The office door was wide open when I reached it, and without pausing I went right in. Of course Sam was at the desk, and of course his laptop was out and in front of him, and as always he was typing away on it. When I entered he paused and frowned. He looked tired and a little annoyed. Despite my determination to find out what was going on, I stopped. Just because I wanted to know what was going on, didn't mean I could charge in and start demanding answers. That would get me nothing but trouble. It was best if I took things slow and spoke carefully.

"Is it okay if I come in?" I asked, trying to sound casual and not overly timid. I was about halfway successful.

"Sure," he said with a nod. "The house has been so quiet I thought you might be asleep. What've you been doing for the past hour?"

"Watching TV," I answered as I went over to a chair that was in front of the window, not too far from where Sam was sitting. I crawled into it with my knees in the seat, and I rested my arms on the top of the chair, and then rested my chin on my arms. I stared out the window at the scene before me. Of course it was bitterly cold out there, and the sky was covered in a thin layer of gray clouds. As I gazed outside I suddenly had a terrible urge to be out there, even if it was freezing. As I studied the cold, winter day, I could feel Sam's eyes on me, but I remained unconcerned. On the outside, anyway.

"I guess TV got boring then, huh?" Sam asked me as he turned back to the laptop.

I turned my head to look at him, resting my cheek on my arms. "Yeah," I replied. "It's so annoying to have a TV that has over one hundred channels with nothing worth watching on the silly thing." Sam laughed at that, keeping his eyes on his laptop as he did. I watched him silently for a few minutes, and then I spoke.

"Sam, can I go outside?" I asked him. That wasn't the reason why I'd come in here of course, but the sudden desire to be outside was strong. My question took him by such surprise that he stopped typing and looked at me. "Please?" I added.

He made a face. "Go outside?" he repeated as though I had asked if I could go to Mars. "Why would you want to do that? It's freezing out there, baby."

I shrugged. "I know. But I've been in this house for almost a week. I'm getting tired of seeing the same thing every day." _And doing the same thing every day, all by myself_. I added silently to myself.

Sam nodded. "Well, I can understand that," he admitted, and I felt hope swell in me. "But you know you can't go outside by yourself," he added gently, and that hope popped like a bubble.

"But we put all those wards up," I reminded him, taking greats pains to make sure I didn't sound whiny or pouty. Again, I had no desire to get myself in any kind of trouble. The feel of the brush on my bare backside was still very memorable, and I wasn't going to take any chance of suffering through it again. I guess Sam really had achieved what he'd wanted to with that thing. I was way more cooperative than I used to be. Darn old Hell Brush.

"I know," Sam said patiently. Perhaps he had picked up on the fact that I was making an effort not to be bratty. "But those wards were made to hold off supernatural beings. Not humans. You never know when—"

"Humans?" I interrupted, rather alarmed. "What humans are after us?" I asked him.

Sam sighed. "I was just going to say you never know when one of those supernatural beings will actually hire, or more like force, a human to get to their target, once they realize they can't get to it themselves, no matter how hard they try. Remember the man in the window? The one that tried to pull you out the last time we were here?"

I blushed a bit. "Yeah, I remember," I grumbled. The fact that I'd almost been kidnapped was because I had disobeyed Sam and had opened one of the windows in the house after I'd been told not to. It had been a dangerous time and Sam and Dean had been trying to keep us as safe as possible.

But like I said, moron me had gone and opened a window and almost instantly a man had popped up out of nowhere, trying to jerk me out of the window. We'd had wards set up around the property then, and even God had gotten involved and had made it to where the vampires couldn't get near us. Once James had figured that out, he had hired a human to try and get me. That plan had failed of course, but it had taught the lesson that even with wards up we were never completely safe.

"Okay, so I can't go outside by myself," I said, giving in on that. "But you could come with me," I added. Giving in on some things did not mean giving up on everything, after all.

Sam smiled softly at me and shook his head. "Not right now," he said, his tone still patient. "I'm doing some research for Bobby, and I want to get it done," he added as he nodded at his laptop.

I blinked in surprise. "Oh," I said after a moment. Of course, I'd expected the research part, but hadn't figured on Bobby being involved. "So that's what you've been doing all this time."

Sam nodded. "Yep, that's what I've been doing. If it wasn't Bobby asking for help, I wouldn't be doing it at all. We're supposed to be on vacation, after all. But," he added with a sigh. "Bobby has done a lot for Dean and me in the past. There was no way I could tell him no when he called and asked for help."

My shoulders slumped and I looked back out the window. Well, I had finally gotten my answer to what he was doing, and though I understood why he was doing it, it still didn't make me any happier about how our "vacation" was going. It was still getting in the way of our time together, and right now it was getting in the way of my wish to go outside. Now, the old me, the one that had not had the displeasure of feeling a wooden hair brush on my bare butt, would have had a fit about the whole thing. But the new me, the one that was still having problems sitting from time to time, knew better. So I was careful with how I proceeded.

"Why didn't you tell me that's what you were doing before, when I asked?" I wanted to know, checking my tone and making sure it didn't sound bratty.

"I had my reasons," Sam replied, his tone a little sharp.

Bratty tone or not, I'd hit a nerve. I decided it would be best not to dig any further on that. "Oh," I said again, my voice small. I looked back out the window. Going outside now seemed even better than before. "Please can we go for a walk now?" I asked him softly, daring to push that particular subject.

"No," he said, his voice a little softer than before. "I already told you, baby. I want to get this done."

I sighed a little. "But it might snow," I said, still speaking softly as I gazed longingly outside. I adored snow. I loved walking in it and I loved standing outside and watching the white flakes drift gently to the ground. I liked the feel of the snowflakes on my skin as they fell all around me. Sam knew how very much I loved snow, so I hoped my reminder would change his mind about letting me go outside.

No such luck. "Is it snowing right now?" Sam asked me as he went back to typing. He knew it wasn't of course, but he was just making a point.

Now I sighed loudly. "No," I muttered reluctantly.

"Then there's no need for you to be out there right now," Sam said firmly.

I felt disappointment stab me like a knife, and I looked over at him. "But I'm bored," I told him, the slightest hint of whine entering my voice. Before he could respond to that an idea struck me, and I brightened. "Can I help you with your research?" I asked him, excited.

In the past Sam had let me help with the necessary research that came with every hunting job, and I liked doing it. But he didn't let me help all the time. The few times that I had been allowed to help, Sam had been stressed with a deadline, which in his line of work meant that if he didn't find the information he needed soon, some innocent person was going to die.

Since Dean usually preferred the more physical type of research, which including questioning people, tracking things, and sitting through long stake outs waiting for something to happen, it fell to Sam to do the book research. When he'd been faced with unbearable deadlines that literally involved life and death, he'd gladly let me help. I'd had my laptop then, and I had looked stuff up online for him, and together we'd work until we'd found the answer to our terrible problem.

But if Sam could help it at all, he didn't let me have much to do with his work. He protected me from it as much as he could, and if I complained I usually got a lecture/scolding, sometimes followed by a swat or two on the butt if I pushed him too far about it. I hoped he wasn't in this kind of mood with whatever research he was doing now, but since this wasn't a life and death situation I knew there was a risk of that.

But still I sat there and waited hopefully after asking my question, but the second Sam sighed I knew it was a no go. I was already wilting with disappointment when Sam glanced at me and shook his head. "Not this time," he told me. "I almost have it done anyway," he added when he took in the devastated look on my face.

I had to fight very hard not to let out a loud, bratty sigh at that. I managed to hold it back, but I wasn't good enough to suppress a tiny moan as I turned back to the window. "Okay," I said in a small voice as I gazed out at the cold day. But then yet another idea popped into my head. Remembering how I had looked things up for Sam on my laptop, I turned back to him, my excitement renewed.

"Sam, can I have my laptop back?" I asked him, nearly jumping up and down on the chair. "Please? It's been a long time and I swear, I _promise_ that I won't write any dear diary stuff. Please Sam, please, please, _please_!" I begged him desperately.

Sam stared at me for a moment, and then he took a deep breath. "Baby," he said, his tone full of regret. "Your laptop's not in the Impala anymore. I left it back at Bobby's house," he told me very gently, and with a look of sadness on his face. "Dean and I took it out of the trunk not long after we got there," he added. "We needed room in there to add extra stuff for the battle coming up, and I took it out and stuck it in Bobby's closet. For some stupid reason I didn't think to put it back in the trunk before we left. I'm sorry, Rivan. If it was here, I'd let you have it, baby," he told me.

For a moment I just sat there and stared at him, and then I looked back out the window. "That's okay," I said in a tiny voice as frustrated tears filled my eyes. Ugh, it wasn't fair! I was so dang bored! My boyfriend was preoccupied with something other than me, I couldn't go outside, TV was boring, I didn't have my laptop, and I couldn't even call Eden because she still didn't have a cell phone. About the twentieth time I'd called her on Dean's phone he'd growled at me and told me to stop calling so much. And to top it off I'd somehow managed to leave all of my books but one at Bobby's house, and I was so sick of the book I did have that I'd tossed it under the bed and left it there. Life was _so_ not fair!

As I stared out the window I guess I must have looked pretty miserable, because Sam spoke again, and I was surprised by what he said. "Tell you what," he said, and I looked back at him, feeling crappy about everything. "As soon as I'm done with this research we'll go outside for a while, take a little walk. Does that sound good?"

No, it didn't sound good. It sounded better than good. It sounded like a lifeline. I felt better instantly, and I brightened again. "Okay!" I said eagerly. "When do you think you'll be done?"

Sam glanced at the clock in the bottom right hand corner of his laptop. "Give me another hour or two," he said. "Probably ought to bet on two hours."

Two whole hours? Blah. "Okay," I said again, nowhere near as excitedly as last time.

Sam smiled at me. "It might not be quite that long," he said, and I just nodded.

He turned back to his laptop, and feeling a bit happier now, I looked back out the window, watching the few little winter birds that were left. I did that for quite a while before something suddenly occurred to me. I looked back at Sam, who was intent on whatever he was typing.

"Sam?" I said softly, hesitantly. I wasn't sure if I should ask this question or not, but I was curious.

"Hmm?" he murmured as he paused in his typing and frowned at the computer screen.

"Why are you doing research for Bobby?" I wanted to know. "I thought he was the go-to guy, the one that did research for you and Dean."

For a moment Sam said nothing, nor did he look at me. Then he sighed softly and went back to typing. "Bobby's kind of busy right now," he told me as his long fingers flew over the keyboard. "He needed some extra help, so he asked me if I could do some research for him."

I frowned. "Well, if he's so busy, why can't Dean do the research for him?" I asked.

Sam paused for a brief moment and glanced at me before looking back at the screen. "Dean's busy answering the phones for him," he explained.

I frowned. "Oh."

Bobby had several different phones in his house, and they were all lined up on a wall together. They each had separate lines, and they each had different labels on them. One was marked FBI, one was marked CIA, and so on. While performing the investigation part that came with every hunting job, hunters often posed as FBI or CIA agents, among other things. It was the easiest way to question potential suspects and witnesses, because no one said no to an FBI or CIA agent. It was also the easiest way to override the local police force when a hunter walked onto a crime scene.

All hunters carried a slew of fake badges, and when asked for identification, they always had it ready. But if someone was not satisfied with that alone, they would demand a number to call and check on their legitimacy. The hunter under fire would hand the mistrusting person a card with the name and the number of their handler, and the mistrusting person would call said number. If the hunter was posing as an FBI agent, then the FBI phone at Bobby's house would ring, and Bobby would answer it. He would then confirm, in his usual grouchy, sharp manner, that the FBI agent in question was legit and promptly hang up on the mistrusting person.

When we'd been staying with Bobby I'd noticed that those phones could keep him pretty busy, so I guess it was a good thing Dean was there to answer them while Bobby did whatever research he was doing. Though, I couldn't imagine Dean tolerating that job for very long. I thought about that for a moment. In doing that job Dean would have the opportunity to snap and yell at people, and I could see him getting a kick out of that. So yeah, I guess that job would suit him. Goof ball.

"So Bobby's doing a job with Dean and Eden there?" I asked next, surprised that he would be. Though, I don't know why. Company or not, if something evil came knocking on Bobby Singer's door, you can bet he'd answer. Violently.

"Yeah, pretty much," Sam replied, his eyes fixed firmly on the screen.

"It must be a local job, then," I commented. Usually any job that Bobby took on required him to leave South Dakota.

Sam took a deep breath and paused in his typing. He reached up and massaged his forehead with the tips of his fingers while he glared at the computer screen. "Well, kind of," he said with a sigh.

I watched him, wondering if my questions and comments were annoying him, or if the research was being a pain. "So, what's the job?" I asked, testing the waters. Sam sighed loudly, crossed his arms over his chest, and looked at me. He didn't say anything. Just stared. All too soon I got nervous. "What?" I asked, almost sounding whiny. "I was just wondering."

Sam raised his eyebrows at me and pressed his lips together, forming a thin line. Okay, now I was getting mad. Time to throw caution to the wind. "Well if you don't want to tell me, that's fine," I said, my tone now huffy. "All I was doing was asking, because to be honest, you haven't talked to me much in the last week. We're supposed to be having a vacation, a vacation _you_ insisted on taking, and now you're sitting in here ignoring me while living on your laptop. What's up with that, Sam? You made it sound like we were going to spend time together while we were here, and we haven't done that at all! What's so important that you would ignore me like this? I feel like I deserve to know, since we're not doing anything you said we'd do!" I finished my little rant in a semi shout, and then I sat there and waited while glaring at him.

Now Sam narrowed his eyes at me. "Okay, you think you deserve to know what I'm doing? Fine, maybe you do. But there are a few things that _I _deserve to know that you haven't shared with me. Which, by the way, fueled this research project in the first place."

I blinked. "What?" I said, totally confused. "What're you talking about? What haven't I told you?"

Sam leaned back in his chair, his arms still folded. "Things about the battle," he said quietly, and my heart began to race. "We've been asking questions, we being me, Bobby and Dean, about something we saw happen in that cemetery that we didn't understand. We still don't understand it. I've been waiting for you to mention this thing, but so far you haven't. So while I've been waiting, Bobby and I have been looking up some stuff to see if we could find anything that seemed close to what we saw. So," Sam concluded as he eyed me. "Now you know why I've been doing research on our vacation. I've told you my secret, so now it's time for you to tell me yours."

I bit down on my lower lip and looked out the window. I knew what he was talking about, of course. There were things that had happened when James had me trapped in that dome that I had not shared with Sam. I had hoped he had not seen any of these things. I should have known better.

"What exactly do you think you saw that night?" I asked him, still staring out the window.

"Well, for starters, I _know _I saw James touch your forehead, making you go ridged as a board. And then a strange blue light shot out of you like some fireworks show," Sam said dryly. "What was that all about, Rivan?"

I sighed deeply and looked back at him. "This is something we should have talked about a week ago," I said, just to stall. The second it was out of my mouth, though, I knew how dumb it sounded.

Sam's eyes flared. "I agree," he said sharply, knowing I was talking about the day he spanked me. "And I asked you if there was anything else we needed to talk about. You said no," he reminded me.

Yeah, I remembered that. The way he had asked it had hit me as odd, but I had been so tired and so sore that I couldn't think straight. I shrugged at him now. "It was an honest answer," I replied casually, contradicting my remark on talking about this last week. I was pushing it, and I knew it. I guess I still had a little bit of brat left in me, despite the spanking I'd had.

Sam narrowed his eyes at me. "You don't think we need to talk about this?"

"No, not really," I told him, my tone still casual.

"Yeah well, we're gonna talk about it anyway," he informed me. "Now come here," he added, beckoning me toward him.

I shifted nervously. "Why? We can talk with me right here. I don't need to be over there." The growing light in Sam's eyes suddenly cracked like lightning, and I knew I had pushed it too far. "Or maybe I do need to be over there," I quickly corrected myself. I slipped out of my chair and started toward my glowering boyfriend, though I did notice his glowering wasn't quite as bad now that I was doing as I was told.

He kept his eyes on me as I approached him, and once I had stopped in front of him, he patted his knee. "Sit," he ordered, the word rolling off his tongue in a deep growl. An involuntary shiver ran down my spine, and I swallowed hard.

"I can't," I told him in a small voice.

The annoyance on his face melted away and turned into a look of confusion. "You can't?" he asked, frowning. "Why can't you?"

Embarrassment colored my cheeks brightly. "Because…because I'm…I can't…because I'm still a little tender, okay?" I finally got it out, annoyed that I stumbled over my words and embarrassed because I had to tell him that.

His eyes widened a little. "It's still bothering you that much?" he asked in surprise, and I could see the concern creeping into his eyes.

"Well no, not real bad," I assured him, my face up in flames now. "I just can't sit on any hard surfaces for very long. Your knee falls under the category of hard surfaces. When you say you're going to make sure I can't sit comfortably for a while, you're not kidding," I added, my eyes skipping away from his.

For a moment Sam said nothing, nor did he move. Then he let out a little sigh before reaching out and catching my hands in his. I looked back at him in surprise, and he stared up at me with a gentle look on his face. Then slowly he brought my right hand up and dropped a tender, sweet kiss on the back of it. Then he did the same with my other hand. His lips were soft and warm, sending tingles up both my arms. The tingling sensation traveled up to my shoulders and over them, racing down my back and circling around to my stomach. The sensations settled there, growing warm and relaxing me. I shivered again, though this time the reaction was welcome.

Sam smiled up at me, and then quite suddenly he pulled me forward and scooped me up in his strong arms. I squeaked in surprise and as he drew me close my arms automatically slipped around his neck. Smiling softly, he settled me on his lap to where my legs were hanging over his left leg, and my butt was hanging between his knees with no pressure on it.

"How's that?" he asked me as he leaned back against the chair. Sunlight filtered through the window behind him, bathing his head in light and awakening the golden highlights in his hair. I noticed for the first time that there was a little red mixed in with the gold.

Pulling my eyes away from his hair, I focused on his face. He smiled at me when our eyes met, and his dimples put on a show for me that relaxed me even more and caused me to melt a bit in his arms. "It's fine," I murmured as I laid my head on his chest.

"No pain?" he asked as he brought one hand up to stroke my hair.

"Nope," I said. The warmth of his body was seeping in through my clothes, and I snuggled closer to him.

"Good," he said softly. For a while we sat there in silence, enjoying each other's closeness. I don't know how much time had passed when Sam finally shifted a little. "You didn't go to sleep on me, did you?" he asked me.

"No," I assured him. "I'm awake."

"Good," he said again. He began to run his hand up and down my arm slowly, his touch tender and loving. "But I'm still waiting for your explanation. I gotta know why James turned you into a human light show, Rivan," he added when I sighed.

"Okay," I said with another sigh. I really didn't feel like fighting with him anymore. It would be easier just to tell him. I took a deep breath. "He called himself giving me a jump start, so to speak," I told him. Yeah, that didn't sound confusing at all.

The hand that was rubbing my arm stopped. "What?" Sam asked. Of course confusion dripped from the word. "He gave you a jump start? Why? What does that mean, Rivan?"

I made a face. "Well, to make a long story short, when James told me the history of the Langstons, he said that each one was born with a special power of some kind. Some could read minds, some could make others do whatever they wanted, and so on. He read all of this in Lenora's journal. Remember I told you about that?" I knew he remembered. I was just trying to stall a little more. Despite my desire not to fight with him, I had a feeling he wasn't going to be happy with me once I told my secret.

"Yes, I remember," Sam said, a note of impatience in his voice. "Keep talking."

I sighed again. "James believed that I had a power too. He said it was dormant. I guess because there haven't been active hunters in the Langston family for so long. Anyway, I don't know how he did it or where he learned how to do it, but when he touched my forehead he was giving me a boost, awakening my power. Or at least that's what he believed," I added, my dry tone making it very clear just what I thought of James' belief.

Sam was quiet for a handful of heartbeats. "You're telling me you have some kind of power." It wasn't a question.

"I'm telling you James believed I did," I quickly corrected. "I didn't. I don't. I never have. I've just been a plain, ordinary person all my life. I've never done anything that would suggest I have some kind of special power."

Again Sam was quiet, only this time his silence lasted much longer. "And when were you planning on sharing this with me?" he asked quietly. A hint of anger laced his words, and I shifted nervously. Yep. Not happy.

"Eventually," I said in a small voice. "And anyway it's not true, Sam. I don't have any kind of power."

"So you're saying you haven't felt different at all since James gave you this so called boost?"

I swallowed hard. "Well…no. Not really. Sam, please don't be mad at me. It's no big deal."

"No big deal?" he echoed, and under my ear his chest rumbled with his words. "Rivan, it's a _very _big deal! By now you should know better than to keep stuff like this from me! In our world, anything remotely strange or off can cause big problems! You should have told me about this long before now!" Suddenly he sat up, forcing me up as well. My butt made contact with his lap, which put pressure on my still tender cheeks. I whimpered, but Sam didn't notice. He grabbed my upper arms, giving me a little shake. "You never, _ever_ keep things like this from me, Rivan! Ever! There is no good reason for it! Do you understand me?"

I fought back the tears that wanted to spring in my eyes. "Yes, sir," I said softly, squirming on his lap. "I understand. I'm sorry, Sam. I thought…I thought it was just James talking crazy! I never thought I might actually have some kind of power! Do you think he was really telling the truth?"

"I don't know, Rivan," he said. I could see some of the anger fading from his eyes, and I relaxed a little. "You can't assume anything with stuff like that." Sam shook his head. "I thought you knew better," he said again, giving me a hard look.

"I'm sorry," I told him. "Whatever James did to me, I don't think he triggered any kind of power in me. I haven't felt weird at all, and nothing weird has happened."

Sam pressed his lips together, forming a thin line. "These dreams you've been having," he said after a moment. "What have they been about?"

Well, crap. "I don't want to talk about it," I said firmly. "And anyway there's no connection to what James did."

"You're assuming again," Sam said sharply, and I cringed. "You _can_'_t _do that. You take your life in your hands when you do. Now I want to know about your dreams, Rivan. Tell me everything. Don't you dare leave anything out," he added, his tone full of warning.

For a moment I considered arguing with him on the matter, and then I figured I better not. So after sighing very loudly, I told him about my dreams. I described the very first one I'd had while we were still at Bobby's, and then I told him about the one with the bald guy in the parking lot of the hotel. I left nothing out. I gave him all of the details. By the time I was done, Sam's eyes were sparking with anger again.

"So you're saying that James told you that there are others looking for you, and then in the other dream there was some man that shifted into a raven while another man came out of nowhere and teleported you off somewhere?" Sam demanded, and I was awful sorry that I had been so honest.

"Well…yeah, that pretty much sums it all up. But Sam, they were just dreams," I reminded him.

Looking wide eyed, Sam let go of my arms and leaned back in the chair again, giving me the chance to shift around enough to take the pressure off of my butt. "Rivan, in our world there's no such thing as _just dreams_! In our world, dreams predict the future and warn us of the danger that future brings! Hell, that may be your power! Did you ever have these kinds of dreams _before _James gave you that boost?"

I bit down on my lower lip as I stared down at my hands. "Well…no," I admitted reluctantly. "But I don't think—"

"Enough," Sam interrupted loudly. "We don't know what we're dealing with here, but it's got to be something. There's always something to things like this. And you're describing Shifters in both of your dreams, Rivan. In case you forgot, those do actually exist!" Sam swore and ran his long fingers through his hair. "I can't believe you kept all of this from me," he growled at me. "No more. Do you hear me? From now on, when you have a dream, you tell me about it. The second you open your eyes, I want to know what you saw in your dream. And I mean _everything_, Rivan. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir," I replied, still staring at my hands. My eyes began to sting, and I swore silently at myself.

"And if you feel different at all, in any kind of way, I want to know about it," Sam continued, his tone stern enough to make me squirm again. "The moment it happens, you tell me. Don't wait, don't hesitate. No matter what it is, I want to know. No matter how small or how stupid it may seem. You keep _nothing_ from me. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," I said again, and much to my annoyance a tear suddenly escaped and rolled down my cheek. Letting out an impatient sigh, I reached up and swiped at it. "I'm sorry, Sam," I added in a moan.

"You should be, Rivan," he snapped at me. I flinched. Taking a deep breath, Sam reached up and rubbed at his eyes. "Seriously, why didn't you tell me all of this before now?"

I shrugged. "I don't know," I muttered. "I guess…because I didn't believe that I could have a power. So I figured there was no reason to mention it. And the dreams…I really did just think they were dreams," I told him, feeling stupid all the while. He really was right. In the world of hunters and the supernatural, things like this always had a meaning. I'd been dumb to shrug it off as unimportant. But of course, I had my other reason for that. "And…also…I was tired of giving you reasons to worry about me," I added.

Instantly Sam's hand fell away from his eyes, and he stared at me. "Rivan, I'm always going to worry about you," he told me. "I have to. It's just the way our life is. It's dangerous, Rivan. Worrying about you and protecting you is part of the job description. I love you and I'm gonna make sure you stay safe. Worrying will always be factored into that."

"I know that, Sam," I said, unable to fight back my annoyance. "And that's why I didn't want to _add _to your worrying."

"The fact that you're more than willing to keep important things from me adds to my worrying, Rivan," he shot back. "You make things worse by stubbornly insisting that things like this are normal in a world that is _not _normal. You can't do that. Because, in doing so, you not only put yourself in danger, but you put everyone else in danger. If these dreams of yours are warnings, then I need to know about them so I can be prepared for what might be coming at us." He stared at me for a long moment. "Do you understand what I'm telling you, Rivan?"

I looked away from him quickly when my eyes filled with tears again. "Yes, sir," I whispered.

"Look at me," Sam told me. I didn't move. I heard his annoyed sigh, and then I felt his strong fingers grasp my chin. Gently but firmly he forced me to look at him. "No more keeping things from me," he said, staring deep into my eyes. "Never again. For any reason. Understand?"

Whimpering, I mumbled out another "Yes, sir," and then I reached up and tried to push his hand away. He captured my hand in his free one and held tight, frowning at me. "I _do _understand," I told him. "I promise."

He studied me for a moment, still frowning. "You know, you really do need to be spanked for keeping all of this from me," he told me, his tone a lot more sharp than I cared for.

I felt my eyes go wide as dread started to gnaw at my insides. I tried to shake my head, but he still had a hold on my chin, so that made it hard. "Please don't," I pleaded, fighting back the tears that automatically wanted to fall in response to his words. Glaring at me, he finally let go of my chin, but I hardly noticed. "I swear I won't do it again," I told him. "Please Sam. I'll wake you up in the middle of the night to tell you about any dream I have! If I feel so much as a strange twitch I'll tell you about it right away. Please!" I moaned as I slumped forward and buried my face against his chest.

He sighed deeply as he wrapped his arms around me. He was silent for several minutes, and then I heard him mutter something. "Alright," he said quietly. He kissed the top of my head and gave me a squeeze. "But you better keep that promise, Rivan. Because if you keep even one thing from me, even just the slightest thing, I'm gonna get the hair brush out again."

I whimpered and started to cry quietly. He had just used his strongest ace. I _hated _that hair brush. Or the Hell Brush, as I called it. But whatever it was, I hated it. With the deepest, most passionate hate possible. "Noooo," I cried out as my tears dampened the front of his brown flannel shirt. "Please Sam, please don't!"

"I will if you keep anything from me," he told me firmly. "Because if you do, I'll consider it lying and putting yourself in danger. You remember what I told you about that last week, right?"

Oh boy, did I ever. "Yes sir," I sniffled.

"Okay, then. Don't test me, Rivan. I'll wear you out with that brush, and when I'm done with that, I'll wear you out with my belt. That clear enough for you?"

I groaned as I closed my eyes. "Yes, sir," I said again. "I won't keep anything from you, Sam. I swear I won't."

I guess he could hear the desperate sincerity in my voice, because when he spoke again his own voice was soft and gentle. "Good," he said as he ran one big hand down my back. "Calm down, now," he added as he kissed me. For a few more minutes I sniffled while he held me, and finally when I was calm enough I spoke.

"If you wanted to know about what happened while James had me, why didn't you just ask me?" Maybe it wasn't the best question to ask, but I was curious.

Sam was quiet for a moment. "I was hoping you would come to the conclusion on your own that telling me was the best thing to do," he finally told me with a sigh.

I swallowed hard. "Oh," I said. "I'm sorry, Sam," I whispered.

"I know." He fell silent for a few minutes. "So," he suddenly said. I looked at him. "In that dream you had last week, you said the man told you that I was delusional in my love for you, and that I just put up with you?"

I flinched. "Yes, sir."

"And so that's why you asked me if I hated you, and why you felt that I may not truly love you."

I looked down and pulled at a thread that was on his shirt, near one of the buttons. "Yes, sir," I said again, my voice small. I could feel his eyes on me, but I didn't look up.

"But you understand that wasn't true? You know better, right?"

I nodded, still pulling at the thread. "Yes, I know. I know that you really love me. What he said means nothing," I added as I started pulling on the button instead. I don't know why I always fiddle with the buttons on his shirt whenever we have a serious conversation. I guess because I'm always nervous and need to do something with my hands. Who knows?

"Good," Sam replied. "Never let anyone tell you any different."

I nodded again. "I won't," I promised.

"That's good." He was quiet as he watched me pull at the button. After a few moments he reached out and took my hand. "I need all the buttons on my shirt, baby," he told me gently. I looked up at him, and when our eyes met I turned a bright red. He laughed softly. "I don't have very many shirts to begin with," he continued. "I kinda need them all to be functional."

I bit down on my lower lip. "I'm sorry," I told him.

"It's alright," he assured me. Carefully, he reached up to stroke my cheek with the back of his index finger.

"And I'm so sorry about not telling you what happened at the cemetery," I added, still feeling guilty over that. "And I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about my dreams!"

"Shh," he murmured, resting his finger over my lips. "You don't need to keep apologizing. What's done is done." He smiled at me while tracing the outline of my lips with the tip of his finger. He stopped and leaned forward to kiss me gently. "Let's not talk about it anymore."

Fair enough. "Okay." I agreed. I rested my head on his chest again, feeling content. We were both quiet for several minutes. Then I spoke again. "Are you going to do more research?" I asked him in a small voice.

"Yeah," Sam said with a tired sigh. "I want to get it done."

"But I told you what you wanted to know," I pointed out softly.

"I know, baby, but you don't understand everything that went on when James gave you this boost, so I want to see if I can find anything else that might explain it a bit better."

I frowned. "Oh," I said, disappointed. I'd been hoping he'd quit so he could take me for my promised walk. Or, at least I hoped he still planned on that. "Can we still take our walk later?" I asked, wanting to make sure.

Sam gently ran his fingers through my hair. "Sure," he said. "As soon as I'm done. Until then, why don't you go see if you can find something to watch on TV. Or maybe read a book," he added.

I reached out to fiddle with the button on his shirt again, but stopped myself in time. "I can't stay in here with you?" I asked, hurt filling my voice.

Sam hugged me. "You can if you're quiet and let me do what I need to," he told me.

Carefully I pushed myself up so I could look at him. "Are you telling me I talk too much?" I demanded, irked.

Sam grinned down at me. "I'm telling you that you ask too many questions," he said.

"I do not!" I protested.

Now Sam laughed. "You do too. Especially when you get impatient. And I know you'll get impatient because you'll want me to hurry up and finish so we can go for a walk. So if you stay in here, you can't interrupt me because it will only take me longer to finish. And don't make faces at me," he warned, his grin widening, causing his dimples to make another appearance. "You know I'm right."

"Are not," I grumbled, pouting.

Sam shook his head. "You just love to argue, don't you?" he asked. Before I could respond he suddenly scooped me off his lap and placed me on my feet.

"I do not!" I complained, still pouting.

"See? You just proved my point," he teased. "Now go find something to do," he added, turning me around and landing a light swat to the seat of my jeans.

I squeaked and reached back to cover my butt, should he decide to swat at me again. "Meanie," I muttered as I wandered back to the chair I'd been sitting in. Sam laughed softly at me, his deep voice rich and shiver inducing. The pleasant kind of shiver, of course. With a sigh I crawled back into my chair, and for a while I sat there and stared out the window. Sam went back to typing on his laptop and reading articles, and I stayed as quiet as possible.

But as I sat there and watched the trees being gently stroked by the light breeze, I thought about the argument Sam and I'd had. I was well aware how lucky I was that I hadn't gotten myself into trouble once more. I shuddered at the thought of getting the hair brush again. No, no, no, never again! I would definitely have to behave better from now on.

I took a deep breath and let it out quietly as I watched the wind snag a handful of leaves and toss them around the yard. It looked like it was getting colder outside, and that annoyed me. If Sam didn't hurry up and get done, it would be too cold for us to go outside. Ugh. I turned my head slightly so I could look at Sam, but he showed no signs of wrapping things up. I fought back a moaning sigh and looked back out the window. I did that for a few more minutes before I realized my knees were starting to hurt from sitting on them for so long. It was time to move.

Carefully I pushed myself out of the chair, and then I looked back over at Sam. I stood there for a moment, chewing on my lip. I couldn't stand it. I had to ask. "Sam?" I said, my voice small and hesitant.

"No Rivan, I'm not done yet," he said, and then he glanced at me. The look on his face was a mixture of amusement and exasperation. "I _told _you that you'd get impatient," he added, looking rather smug.

I made a face at him. "But Sam, I think it's getting colder outside," I complained. "If it gets too cold, I know you won't take me for a walk!" I whined at him.

He turned a little so he could glance out the window behind him. "Yeah, it does look like it's getting colder," he agreed as he turned back to his laptop. "And you're right. If it's too cold out there, we'll have to save our walk for later."

"Then can we go now?" I asked. "You can always finish your research when we come back in."

"No, Rivan," Sam told me firmly as his fingers got busy typing again. "I want to finish it _now_, not later. So either stay in here and be quiet, or go find something else to do. It's like I told you before. The more you interrupt me, the longer this will take."

Upon hearing his answer, I had to remind myself of my promise to be better behaved. "Okay," I said reluctantly. My shoulders drooped and I sighed. "I'll be quiet," I told him. I really didn't want to be by myself, anyway.

Sam nodded as he kept his eyes on the screen. "Good girl," he said, the corners of his mouth twitching up just a little.

Fighting back a sigh, I made a face as I turned away. With nothing else to do, I wandered over to the couch and stretched out across it, on my stomach of course. Though I was not planning on falling asleep, I passed out minutes later. In the end it was the best thing for me to do, and two hours later I woke up to find Sam was done with his research. He hadn't found anything of interest, but at that point I didn't care. All I wanted to do was go outside, and luckily he was still willing to take me. So we walked around the backyard for a while.

We were out there for about thirty minutes before Sam declared that it was getting too cold. Without another word he got a firm grip on my hand and took me inside, despite my pleas to stay out a little longer. I pouted about that, but Sam chased away that pout by making me a mug of my favorite hot chocolate. Later we made dinner together, and afterwards Sam got a fire going in the fireplace, and we cuddled up on the couch and talked about whatever came to mind. It was the most fun I'd had since we'd been there, and I hoped the days that followed would be just as good.

Thankfully, they were. Sam took me on walks as often as the weather would permit. When the temperatures dropped too low, one of our favorite things to do was get in front of that fire and hold each other, sometimes with the TV on and sometimes not. I found that of all things we could do, this was the most relaxing. But one afternoon while we were sitting on our couch and watching the fireplace, something new happened. Completely out of the blue, just like always, Cas showed up. He stood there and stared down at us. His face was set in that annoyingly impassive way of his, and his eyes lingered on me for a moment.

Of course I jumped a little at his sudden appearance, but Sam merely sighed. He looked up at the Angel, a bit of annoyance written across his face. "It's about time you showed up," he told Cas. "Dean and I have been waiting for you. We wanted to talk to you."

"Yes, I know," Cas replied calmly.

The muscle in Sam's jaw twitched ever so slightly. "And I guess you know what we wanted to talk to you about," he said, his eyes narrowing just a bit.

Cas nodded. "Of course. You want to know why I wasn't at the cemetery that night, helping you to fight James and his army."

"Yeah," Sam told him, his tone sharp. I glanced at Cas and then back at Sam. "It would be nice to know why, since you gave us the impression that you'd be there!"

Cas stared at him, the impassive look slipping away to be replaced by a look of regret. "I am sorry, Sam," he said quietly. "It was my intention to be there. But in the end, I was needed elsewhere."

"Oh yeah? And where were you needed, Cas? What was more important than us and the battle we were fighting? We were trying to stop James from taking over the entire human race. What was more important than that?" Cas didn't answer. He only stared. The muscle in Sam's jaw was really moving now. "You're not gonna tell me? Wow, big surprise," he growled as he threw one hand in the air, frustrated. He leaned back against the couch, glaring at the Angel. "You know, just a _little _bit of help that night would have been nice," he told Cas, his voice snarly.

Cas was quiet. He kept his eyes on Sam, the regretful look turning into a serious one. "You had help that night, Sam," he said very quietly.

"Oh really?" Sam snapped. "Who did we have other than the people we brought in? I didn't see anyone but hunters, Cas. Me, Dean, Bobby, Ellen, and Jo. And those three weirdoes Bobby called. And Rivan," he added, putting his arm around me and pulling me close. I said nothing. I felt it was better that I stayed out of this. "So who else was out there, Cas? Huh? I didn't see anyone else. Tell me who was out there, supposedly helping us!" Sam raised his voice a little, and I cringed.

Cas gazed down at him, his face set once more in his signature impassiveness. "There _was _someone there," he replied. "You and everyone else had the best help possible that night."

"_Who_?" Sam snarled, fed up.

The corners of Cas' mouth twitched ever so slightly. "God," he said simply. "That is why you won, and why you are all still alive."

Sam's mouth fell open, and Cas disappeared. Silence thundered down on us. I had no idea what to say, so I kept my mouth shut. For a while Sam didn't know what to say or do either, so he was just as quiet as I was. Then, after sitting there for almost an hour, he pulled out his phone.

I stayed quiet as Sam called Dean and told him about Cas and what the Angel had said. They didn't talk for long, and Sam ended the conversation by telling Dean to call him if Cas paid him a visit as well. Looking a little stunned, Sam slipped his phone back into his pocket and then leaned back again.

"At least now we know that we weren't alone out there," I told Sam, my voice soft.

For a moment Sam said nothing. "Yeah," he finally said. He took a deep breath. "At least we do know that," he added. He pulled me close again, and we went back to snuggling on the couch. We were pretty quiet for the rest of the day, and we didn't talk about Cas. Dean called a few days later to report that Cas had not paid him a visit, and more days passed without us seeing him. We didn't see him again for quite a while after that.

Of course, life went on after that. Soon we were not talking or thinking about Cas at all. Sam and I went back to our vacation. For the next few weeks we lived as we had been, enjoying our time together. That was more than fine with me, of course. One of the best things about it was the fact that I hadn't experienced anymore dreams, and I didn't feel odd in any way. I was more than happy with the way life was going for us.

Then one day, Sam surprised me with the suggestion that we go out and do some shopping. When he saw the surprised look on my face, he grinned at me and told me that we needed to do some Christmas shopping, since it was already the ninth day of December. I was also instructed to pick a birthday present out, since my birthday was only two days away. I kept shaking my head at myself as I got ready to go. How had so much time passed without me knowing?

Though I figured I must not be the only one that wasn't paying attention to the passing time. I had talked to Eden often lately, and she hadn't mentioned anything about how close Christmas was getting. Instead, we'd update each other on current events, talking at the speed of light. Whenever I finally hung up Sam always commented that we'd had to have broken the record for the fastest talking. And then, of course, there was the length of our conversations. Sam always marveled over how long Eden and I could talk to each other.

"I don't know how you two can find so much to say to each other," he'd said to me once when I came downstairs after a four hour phone conversation.

"She's my best friend," I'd told him with a shrug. "We always have plenty to talk about." Sam had just laughed while shaking his head at me.

Anyway, our day of Christmas shopping went well, and it felt good to get out. Though, I had to admit, the amount of people who were also out and about overwhelmed me. I had not been Christmas shopping in more than two years, and from time to time the massive crowds made me nervous. Sam took us to the nearest mall, and he held tight to my hand as we walked around.

Because of the constant possibility of danger, whenever I had to go to the bathroom, Sam had to stand outside the door to make sure I stayed safe. One time, while I was at the sink washing my hands, a group of women came pouring in, and everyone was making all kinds of interesting comments about the tall, drop dead gorgeous man standing outside.

"Did you see that tall drink of water?" One woman with bright blonde hair gushed as she breezed by me. "I'd love to see him under my Christmas tree!"

"Forget that," Another woman piped up. "I'd love to see him in my bed with nothing but a big red bow tied around his neck!" They broke into silly giggles as they stormed the open stalls. I bit back my own laughter as I casually dug through my purse for my lip gloss.

"I'm with Sherry," A third woman somewhere toward the end stall nearly bellowed. "Can you imagine him with egg nog and chocolate sauce all over him?" At that comment I very nearly jabbed my lip gloss wand up my nose, and I was thankful there was no one else at the sink with me.

"Yuuuuummmm-eeeee!" The woman named Sherry spoke up again. "Girl, you know how to get it _on_!" This was followed by a chorus of robust comments such as "Yes ma'am" and, "You know that's right" and, "Work it, girlfriend!" I bit down hard on my lower lip to keep from laughing, promptly messing up my freshly applied lip gloss.

The woman that liked egg nog and chocolate sauce mixed with man spoke up again. "Well, I don't know about you ladies, but when I get done here, I'm going directly to Santa's village there in the middle of the mall and tell that plump, little man what a naughty girl I've been this year, and that he better send Mr. Tall and Gorgeous over to punish me!"

Every single one of those women burst into loud, shrieking laughter, leading me to believe that perhaps that had already sampled a bit too much egg nog. Slapping my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing, and fighting back the instinctive urge to stick around and let those ladies know that Mr. Tall and Gorgeous was spoken for, I hurried out of the bathroom and promptly collided with Sam. I looked up at him, and the moment our eyes met, I started to laugh.

Sam gave me a confused smile. "What's so funny?" he asked me.

Getting control of myself, I slipped my arm through his and steered him away from the bathroom. Best to get him out of there before those hungry women came out. "Well, I think you'll find it very interesting to know that all those women back in the bathroom saw you standing there, and they think you're drool worthy. They also want you naked in their beds with nothing but a red bow tied around your neck, dipped in egg nog and chocolate sauce," I added casually. "And apparently one of them has been a very naughty girl this year, and is going to see Santa and request that you be sent to her house to punish her."

I paused and looked up at Sam. He stood there staring at me with his eyes bugging out and his mouth opening and closing, the ability to form words gone. Unable to help myself, I started laughing my head off, drawing stares from the people closest to us.

"Oh, I wish I could get a picture of you right now!" I said. Suddenly I heard a familiar sound of laughter behind us, and my own eyes went wide. "Oh no, they're coming!" I cried out as I grabbed Sam's hand. "Come on, let's go this way. I want to look at slippers for Eden anyway. Hurry!" Together we hurried off as fast as we could through the crowd, and once we reached the area with all the slippers we were both out of breath and laughing.

Feeling lighter and happier than ever, I grabbed Sam and laid a good kiss on him, leaving him speechless again. Grinning from ear to ear, I took his hand again and we browsed through the rows of slippers waiting to be bought. Every now and then I caught Sam staring at me with a goofy smile on his face, and we'd break into fits of laughter again.

Once we left that store with a new pair of slippers for Eden, Sam insisted that I get serious about picking out a birthday present, as well as a Christmas present. "I'd rather pick them out myself, but I can't send you off by yourself while I shop," he said as he maneuvered us through a particularly serious group of shoppers. "So you're gonna have to stay with me and pick out what you want. I'm sorry," he added as he led me into a crowded JC Penny.

"Don't be sorry," I told him. "It's no big deal. But you don't have to buy me a present for my birthday and another one for Christmas, too. You can get just one and it can be for both things," I told him. Since Sam's "job" didn't pay at all, he never had much money, and even though he had credit cards, he didn't like to use them a whole lot. So, since we'd been together, he'd never been able to buy me a lot of presents, and I knew he felt bad about it. I never cared though. I loved what he gave me, and always told him so.

Now, though, Sam tossed a scowl at me over his shoulder. "You're getting a present for your birthday _and _a Christmas present too," he told me. "You always try to pull that on me, and it never works. When we get home, I'm gonna spank you for suggesting it," he added in a low voice that only I could hear.

I felt myself turn bright red, but I gave him a wicked smile. "Well if you get to punish me, I get to strip you naked, put a bow on you, and pour egg nog and chocolate sauce all over you," I shot back smoothly. I had to give Sam credit. He didn't pause at all, but he did choke a little, and he was even a little red in the face by the time we reached the perfume department.

I giggled a lot while we were looking at all the perfume, but finally Sam insisted that I get serious and pick something out. After muttering something about stopping at the grocery store to buy egg nog and chocolate sauce, I finally focused on the displays that were full of perfume sets. In no time at all I had one picked out, but when we went to pay for it I cringed when Sam pulled one of his credit cards out. I always felt guilty when he had to use one, especially if he used it to buy me something.

But I forced myself not to say anything while we checked out, and minutes later we made our way through the store and back into the mall. "Stop feeling guilty," Sam told me as he held my hand tightly. That rough looking group of shoppers that we ran into earlier came up on us again, and Sam led me off to the side so they wouldn't run over us.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him, trying to appear innocent.

Sam snorted. "Innocent does not work on you," he informed me, and my mouth fell open. He grinned at me. "You know what I'm talking about. You feel guilty because I used a credit card to buy you that perfume. Don't, okay? I wanted to get it for you. I like to be able to buy you things for your birthday and Christmas. I really can't do it any other time, so please don't take the fun out of it, okay?" he asked softly.

I swallowed. "I'm sorry," I told him. "I'll be good," I promised. "I don't mean it to be mean. I just…worry."

"Well, don't. There's no need to, okay?"

"Okay," I said as I slipped my arms around his waist. I brightened. "Now let's go buy you a Christmas present!" I said. I had my own credit card. Under a false name of course. Like Sam, I only used it during Christmas and birthdays. His, of course, Eden's, and even Dean's birthday. Oh yeah, and I used it to buy Bobby a Christmas present, as well as a birthday present.

Sam shook his head. "You need to get something for your birthday," he told me.

"I will. But I want to buy you something right now. We've already got everything we need for Dean and Eden, and Bobby too. I have something, so now it's your turn. Please?" I added, looking up at him with that pleading look I knew he found hard to resist.

He sighed deeply. "Alright. But after that we're going somewhere to get you an iPod. I know you've wanted one for a while now."

I stared at him. "But iPods are real expensive," I reminded him gently. I said it for my benefit too. I truly did want one so I could listen to music during those long trips from one state to another, and during those long hours spent in hotel rooms while Sam and Dean were out hunting creepy things. Though Eden and I could talk each other's ears off, there were times when we were quiet, and during those times I loved listening to music.

It was hard to play it on my laptop in hotels, because almost every time I did the people next door to us would come and complain. Over the last year Sam bought me cheap head phones that I could plug into my laptop, but they always broke quickly, and I didn't like being restricted to the laptop while listening to my music. I liked to move around and dance a little.

While driving, Dean played music, but often I didn't like what he listened to, and there had been many arguments between me and Dean about his songs, as well as how far he turned the volume up. Sam didn't care much for Dean's music either, so he was on my side, and he was sympathetic when I complained about it. But only one time did I voice my desire for an iPod, and that was a long time ago. I couldn't believe he still remembered. Well, actually I could. Sam was good about stuff like that.

"It doesn't matter," Sam told me firmly. "You're getting an iPod for your birthday. End of story. So don't argue with me, or you're gonna get a birthday spanking, too," he warned.

I wrinkled my nose at him. "Empty promises," I said with a sigh and a roll of my eyes.

Sam snorted. "You wish," he said. Before I could reply he grabbed my hand and pulled us back into the crowd. For the next hour we shopped for his Christmas present, and I ended up getting him a few new shirts, as well as an electric razor, something I knew he'd been wanting. He resisted because I insisted on getting him a nice one, which meant an expensive one.

"See!" I said with a laugh. "You do it too. So ha ha!" I gave Sam a triumphant smile as the cashier handed me the bag. "Now you can't say anything when I pick out a cheap iPod," I told him.

"Sure I can," Sam said, his tone casual but his eyes full of warning. "And I will if you make me. No cheap iPod. I know I can't get the most expensive one, but there's no point in getting the cheapest one. It wouldn't do you any good," he told me.

Despite Sam's determination to get me an iPod, I did manage to lead him around the mall for a whole hour, convincing him that I really wanted something else for my birthday. Or at least I thought I had him convinced. After dragging Sam into the tenth store with the comment "I think what I want is in here!" he finally pulled me off to the side and forced me to sit on one of the many benches the mall provided. He sat down next to me, the look on his face suddenly stern.

"Look," he said as a group of men dressed as elves passed us, heading back to Santa's Village from a smoking break. I could smell cigarettes on them as they went by. Yeah, that ought to be great for the kids. "You've been dragging me around the mall for the last hour claiming you want something else for your birthday, but you don't even know what it is. I've humored you for this long. We're gonna go get you an iPod, go get something to eat, and then head back to the house. It's gonna be dark soon, and I don't want us wandering around, no matter how many people are around us."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Oh yeah, because we'll surely turn into pumpkins if we're out past midnight," I said dryly. Sam shot me a look, and I flinched. "Okay, fine," I relented. "I can see you're getting tired and hungry. You're starting to turn into a grouch," I added, grinning at him. He narrowed his eyes at me, but in the end he couldn't help but grin back.

But all games were abandoned when he pulled me to my feet and led me off in search of an iPod. When I saw just how determined he was for me to have one, I convinced him to leave the mall and head for the nearest Wal-Mart, because they were cheaper there. Or they were the last time I looked at them on the Internet.

So we went to Wal-Mart, and in the end I walked out of the store with a black Apple iPod Classic with 160GB worth of storage. Even though Wal-Mart proved to be cheaper like I said, Sam still paid a pretty penny for the thing. I had done my best to look at the ones that were under one hundred dollars, but Sam had caught me drooling over the Classic. After that there was no convincing him I didn't want that one.

"Last time I looked, you had a lot of music on your laptop," he reminded me as he started up the Impala and got it out onto the road. "That iPod holds forty thousand songs. And it's not just for playing songs. You can do a lot of other stuff with it too. It was the best one for you," he insisted.

Though I felt tremendously guilty about it, I didn't let Sam know because I didn't want to ruin the obvious satisfaction he got from buying me the little monster machine. Instead I forced my guilt away and rained thanks onto him, and when he stopped so we could get something to eat, I rained kisses on him as well. He was so happy, and I loved seeing him that way. I didn't want to do anything to chase his beautiful smile away.

By the time we were done eating, darkness had crept up on us. Sam insisted that we needed to get back home, but I didn't mind too much. We'd taken care of everything we'd set out to do. Everyone had presents, and that was all that mattered. And anyway, I suddenly realized how tired I was. We had left the house early and stayed out for quite a while, fighting other Christmas shoppers. I had to agree it was time to go home.

But when we pulled into the driveway of our little hide away, something happened that gave me a new round of energy. As Sam and I were gathering up the smaller bags, something outside caught my eye. And for once it wasn't some terrible monster out to get us. It was a simple, beautiful snowflake.

I watched with a smile on my face as the tiny white flake drifted down slowly to land on the hood of the Impala. I expected it to melt on impact, but to my surprise it retained its form for several seconds before it finally began to disappear. Just as that was happening, another flake joined it, and then another. Seconds later the hood of the Impala was covered in the white stuff.

"Sam, look!" I cried out. "It's snowing!"

Sam looked up from the plastic bag he'd been peering in. "So it is," he said as he watched the frozen ice puffs decorate the Impala. "Wonder what took it so long. Hey, what're you doing?" he suddenly asked, for I had taken my seat belt off and was now unlocking the door.

"Getting out," I said as I kept my eyes on the snow that swirled around us.

"Rivan," Sam said, his tone a bit sharp. I jumped a little and turned to look at him, my eyes wide. "Come on, you know how this goes," he told me as he raised his eyebrows.

I blinked. "What are you talking about?" I asked. Through the window behind him I could see that the snow had picked up speed, and I focused my eyes on that instead of Sam.

"Hey," he said, catching my chin and forcing me to look at him. "You know what I'm talking about. You don't get out of this car before I do. And you know why. The longer you stay in here, the longer you're protected by the stuff Dean and I put in this car. We've had this conversation before, remember?" he asked. His tone was a bit stern now, and I swallowed hard.

"I'm sorry," I told him, a hint of whine in my voice. "But you know how I love snow!"

"Yes, I do," Sam said, nodding. "But is the snow worth your life?"

Ugh. "No, sir," I said quietly.

He held onto my chin for a few moments, his eyes locked onto mine. "Okay then," he said as he let me go. "You stay put until I get over there and open your door. Here, can you carry these too?" he asked, holding up a few more small bags that contained the smaller presents.

"Yes, sir," I whispered as I reached out and took them. I faced forward and looked out the wind shield, holding back the tears that had sprung into my eyes.

Sam rummaged through a few more bags, and then pulled the keys out of the ignition. He started to get out, but stopped. I felt his gaze on me, but I kept my eyes on the snow outside. "What, are you pissed at me for lecturing you?" he asked me.

"No," I said, still not looking at him. "Sir," I added quickly.

He studied me. "So what's wrong? Are you afraid you're in trouble?" he wanted to know.

I shrugged. "I don't know," I said in a near whisper. I glanced at him for a split second, and then looked away again.

He was quiet for a moment, and I heard him set the bags on the car seat between us. He reached out and took my hand. "Look at me," he said softly. Taking a deep breath, I did. As soon as our eyes met more tears filled my eyes, and I hated myself for it. "I'm not mad at you," he told me as he brushed his thumb across the back of my hand. "You're not in trouble. Okay? You're not gonna get spanked. So don't worry about it. It's all good."

I felt my body relaxed a little, and he squeezed my hand. "Smile for me. This isn't anything worth ruining our day over, is it?"

"No, sir," I replied as my eyes dropped to stare at his chest.

"Good. I'm just trying to take care of you and make sure you stay safe. Just like always. You have to remember that, and you have to remember to give me the cooperation you promised me. Okay?"

I felt my face turn red, but I nodded. "Okay," I said, and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I've been trying so hard," I added in a small moan. "I didn't mean to mess up! I'm sorry, Sam."

"Hey," he said softly, leaning over to give me a gentle kiss. "I said I wasn't mad, didn't I?" Sniffling, I nodded. "Okay, then. Don't get yourself all upset over it."

I nodded again. "Okay," I said softly. Then I offered him a small smile, and he rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on," he said as he grinned at me. "I know you can do better than that." I rolled my eyes back at him and then stuck my tongue out at him. He laughed, and the sound instantly lifted my spirits. "Brat," he said with a shake of his head. He leaned over and gave me a quick but intense kiss, and then he had the door open. He squeezed my hand one more time before hauling his long body out of the car.

I watched as he hurried around to my door, and seconds later he had it open. He helped me out and without a word we started toward the house, his hand wrapped firmly around mine. "What about the rest of the stuff?" I asked him as he reached the door and began to unlock it.

"I'll come back out and get it," he said. Before I could say anything, the door was open and he was leading me inside. He gave me another kiss before turning and heading back outside, closing the door behind him.

I let out a loud sigh as I walked further into the house. I wandered into the living room and dropped the bags on the couch, then hurried over to the nearest window. Pulling up the shade, I peered outside. The snow was falling faster now, and the flakes were large and thick. I felt myself relax even more, and I was still standing there when Sam came back in with the rest of the stuff.

"It's really coming down now," he said as he deposited the bags on the couch as I had done.

"I know," I said with a small groan and I turned to face him. "Please Sam, can we go out and walk around the front yard for a while? Please?" I begged, giving him my best puppy dog look.

"Baby, it's dark out there," he told me patiently. "You know the rules. No being outside when it's dark. But that doesn't mean we can't go out there tomorrow morning," he added as he flashed a smile at me.

"But Sam, the snow might be gone by then!" I told him.

He laughed. "Are you kidding me? Look how hard it's falling and how much is coming down," he said as he pointed out the window. I glanced behind me, and sure enough, all I saw was a sky clogged by white. "Rivan, that snow is gonna still be there tomorrow," he assured me. "It's all sticking to the ground. You'll have plenty to walk around on in the morning. The snow can wait a while. I promise."

Before I could say anything he suddenly grabbed me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I squealed as he picked me up off my feet and twirled me around. When he put me back on my feet his lips were on mine, and I let out a tiny moan as the heat of the kiss spread throughout my body, warming me.

"You know what?" I said softly when our lips parted for a moment.

"What?" Sam asked as he leaned down and gently pressed his forehead against mine.

"I think you're right. The snow _can_ wait a while," I said. Before Sam could respond I leaned up and locked lips with him again, savoring the feel and the taste of him.

Sam laughed softly between kisses. "Definitely," he agreed, leading me over to the empty couch. We flopped down on it, and I crawled into his lap. Many more kisses followed after that, and for the rest of the evening I was very satisfied.

* * *

><p>The snow did indeed wait until morning. I woke up as the sun was rising, and I jumped out of bed and went straight to the window. I pulled the blinds up, and gasped in awe at the sight before me. Everything was covered in snow. A thick blanket of it had been laid on the Impala, and the branches of every tree were weighed down with the icy stuff. It covered every inch of the yard, and as the sun finish its journey into the sky, it cast its golden rays down on the wintery scene below. The snow glistened in response to the sun's warm touch.<p>

Grinning, I dropped the blinds and turned toward the bed, only to stop in surprise. It was empty. I had been so excited about the snow that I hadn't even noticed when I got up. Duh! For a moment I just stood there, and then I heard the sound of footsteps down the hall. Seconds later Sam was standing at the door, dressed in his warmest clothes.

"Well it's about time you got up," he told me with a smile. "I'm all dressed and ready to go outside. I thought for sure you'd be up before me, bugging me to take you outside to see the snow," he added.

I blinked. "You mean we can go out right now?"

Sam laughed. "Sure. As long as you put about five layers of clothing on," he told me.

I made a face at him. "Then I wouldn't be able to move," I complained as I rushed over to the dresser. I spent the next few minutes picking out clothes while Sam sat on the bed and watched me. If I pulled something out that he thought wasn't warm enough, he'd shake his head and tell me to find something else.

After a few tries, I finally got the clothes that suited him and got dressed. Then I got my socks-two pairs actually-and shoes on in a flash, and after grabbing my gloves, I snatched Sam's hand and tried to pull him off the bed. "Come on!" I urged him. "Why are you acting like you're made of lead _now_?" I whined. "I'm ready to go!"

Sam shook his head at me. "You need a hat," he told me. "Where's that red one I bought for you?"

I made a face. "I don't want to wear it, it makes me look funny."

He laughed. "It does not. Now go get it."

Groaning, I did as he told me. Seconds later I was back, the hat in my hand. Sam stayed where he was, waiting. Groaning again, I shoved the hat onto my head. "There," I told him, frowning. "Happy?"

"Of course," he said as he stood up. He grabbed me, making me squeal with laughter, and then laid a good kiss on me. Once he let me go, he caught my hand in his, and together we left the room. I attempted to drag Sam down the stairs once we reached those, but he wouldn't let me. "Do you want to fall and hurt yourself?" he asked me, his eyebrows up.

I made a face at him. "No, but I'd like to get outside before the snow melts. At the rate you're going, it'll be all gone by the time we get out there!"

He narrowed his eyes at me, and then raised just one eyebrow at me. "Oh really?" he asked, a grin spreading slowly across his face. Before I could blink he suddenly had me picked up and thrown over his shoulder, and I shrieked in surprise while scrambling to grab at the back of his jacket.

He laughed at me, and then with great ease, he carried me down the rest of the stairs. I made a lot of racket as he carried me through the house and to the front door, but the moment we were outside I fell silent as I looked around. Wow. It was even more beautiful up close.

Sam carried me to the middle of the front yard, and then he stopped. Carefully he eased me down and placed me on my feet, and I inhaled sharply when I felt the cold rush into my shoes. They weren't the best shoes to be wearing while walking in the snow, but they would have to do.

"There now," Sam said as he took my hand. "Feel better?"

I smiled up at him. "Yep," I said, and stood on my tip toes to drop a quick kiss on his lips. "Thank you," I added.

He grinned at me as he slipped his hands into his jacket pockets. "For what? Carrying you out here?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "No, not that. Thank you for letting me _come_ out here," I told him softly.

Sam laughed. "I didn't have much choice," he said as he looked around the yard. "As much as you like snow, I had to bring you out here for a little while, at least."

"True," I said with a shrug. Then I grabbed his hand. "Come on, let's walk for a while." Sam squeezed my hand gently, and then we started our walk. I tried to take in everything as we moved around the yard. Tiny icicles clung to the branches of small bushes, and bigger ones decorated the snow laden tress that surrounded us. Everything was sparkling beautifully in the early morning sunshine, and I took in as much as I could.

After a while of walking, Sam insisted that we go over to the Impala and get the snow off of it. So we did, and I found it to be an interesting experience. The snow on the car was so thick it took both me and Sam to push it off the trunk and the hood. Getting it off the top of the car was a little harder, and in the end Sam found an old broom and used it to shove the snow off.

Once we were done with that, Sam wanted to check some of the wards that we'd placed in some of the bushes in the front yard, so hand in hand, we walked over to the first set of bushes. I stood there and waited, looking around while Sam looked the wards over. Several minutes passed, and soon I became bored just standing there. Sighing softly, I turned to see Sam bent over in front of me, studying a small rock that he had written some sort of symbol on.

A wicked grin spread across my face as I studied the rather good looking butt in front of me. For a moment I didn't move, and then, unable to stand it, I slowly bent down and began scooping some snow up. Sam's attention remained fixed on the rock. Biting down on my lower lip, I quickly formed the snow into a ball, and then without hesitation, I threw it directly at Sam's butt.

The snow splattered against his jeans, and I started to laugh. Sam cried out and straightened quickly, brushing the snow off the seat of his jeans. He turned to look at me, and the wide eyed look of shock on his face only made me laugh more.

"Rivan!" he half yelled, his voice carrying notes of both amusement and exasperation.

I paused in my laughter and tried to give him an innocent look. "I'm sorry!" I said, and I knew I didn't sound at all sorry. Simply because I wasn't. "I just…couldn't resist! I mean, you had your butt stuck up in the air, just asking for it!"

For a moment Sam just stood there, and then he laughed. "Yeah well, you know what you're asking for now, don't you?" Before I could say anything he leaned down and scooped up some snow of his own. In seconds he had it formed into a perfect snow ball, and with a wicked grin on his face, he started toward me.

I let out a shriek and laughed before turning and running off, as fast as I could through the thick snow, anyway. "Sam, no!" I squealed, still laughing. But Sam didn't pause at all, and seconds later the snowball found its way to my rear. I shrieked loudly as the cold stuff made contact, and then I howled as I turned to look back at Sam.

"Well I have to say, that's the first time you ever gave me cold buns instead of hot ones!" I teased him, and he rolled his eyes. While he was in the middle of that I was busy making another snowball, and before Sam was done with the eye roll he had snow all over the front of his jacket.

He stared down at his jacket for a moment, and then looked back up at me. "Okay, fine," he told me, a grin on his face as he watched me with sparkling eyes. "You want a war? Fine with me."

My eyes went wide, and, laughing, I took off. Seconds later snowballs were flying all over the yard, and the sound of happy laughter echoed all around. For several minutes we had an intense but fun snowball fight, and by the time we were done we were both soaked through to the skin. Then we somehow managed to land on our backs in the snow, but I moved quickly and straddled Sam, sitting down on his stomach.

"I win!" I told him happily, before leaning down and kissing him.

"Oh, you think so, do you?" he asked when our lips parted.

"I _know _so," I informed him. "And I claim you as my prize," I added, my tone haughty.

Sam laughed. "Who said anything about prizes?"

"I did," I told him. "Now give me a kiss."

He grinned. "Yes, ma'am," he replied, the twinkle in his eyes wicked. Before I could blink, I was the one on my back with Sam on top, positioned carefully over me so that all of his weight was not on me. I shrieked as he pinned my wrists on the ground, one on each side of my head, before leaning down and kissing me so passionately it felt like the snow all around us was melting. The kiss lasted for several minutes, and when we finally parted, my head was spinning in a good way.

"And now _I _claim _you _as my prize," he said as he gazed down at me, the expression on his face smug.

I stuck my tongue out at him while straining my wrists against his hands, but there was no way I was getting away until he let me go. Huffing, I stopped struggle and looked up at him. "No fair, you're stronger than me," I complained, but did so with a grin.

"Yeah, you look so upset about that, too," Sam snorted, shaking his head at me. "So, do you surrender?" he asked me, the wicked gleam back in his eyes.

Now it was my turn to snort. "Never," I shot back, sounding haughty again.

Sam laughed softly. "Always feisty," he said with a sigh. Then he grinned. "That's my girl," he added, and then the look on his face transformed into one so tender and gentle I could barely stand it. Our lips met again, but the kiss didn't last as long, because suddenly Sam was up and pulling me to my feet.

"What're you doing?" I asked, disappointed.

"We've been out here way too long," he told me. "We're both soaked, and your lips are turning blue. We need to go back inside."

"How can my lips be turning blue after all that good kissing?" I asked as he started to lead me back to the house.

Sam chuckled. "Well, there's only so much good kissing can do in fourteen degrees weather," he pointed out.

"True," I admitted. "I'm sure we can do much better inside," I added.

Sam paused and looked at me. "You know it," he said, and with a laugh he hurried me inside, where the blissful warmth of the house automatically began to thaw me out.

We immediately took a hot shower after that, me using the one in our room, and Sam using one of the other ones. Once I was out and dried, I slipped on a pair of sweats and one of Sam's flannel shirts. After putting on a pair of thick, warm socks, I went downstairs to find Sam was already done and in the kitchen, making us breakfast. We spent at least two hours in the kitchen, eating and enjoying hot coffee. Or, he enjoyed hot coffee. I had hot chocolate. Then we cleaned up the mess, and after that we just laid around the house for the rest of the day. I have to say that it was just simply wonderful.

In the late afternoon we both pulled our coats and shoes on and went to stand on the porch. It had started to snow again, and I had begged Sam to at least take me out on the porch so I could watch for a few minutes. As I stood there staring out at the yard, I breathed in deeply, the cold air rushing through my nose and down into my lungs. I shivered a little, and Sam came up behind me, slipping his arms around my waist.

"Ready to go back inside?" he asked me as he pulled me against him. He leaned down and rested his chin lightly on my shoulder, and my hand went up to touch his hair.

"Not just yet," I murmured. We were both quiet as we watched the snow drift slowly to the ground, adding a new layer to the snow we had played in hours ago. I sighed contently and smiled, but then out of the blue a thought hit me. I frowned a little, and then turned in Sam's arms so I could look up at him.

He smiled and cupped my face between his strong hands before brushing his lips against mine. "What's wrong?" he asked me when he noticed the frown on my face.

"Nothing, really. I just…thought of something, that's all," I told him with a small sigh.

He smiled. "What did you think of?" he asked. I bit down on my lower lip, wondering if I should say anything. "Tell me," Sam requested gently. His hands slid down from my face and moved to rest on my hips.

"Well I was just…I was thinking about…" I paused and shook my head. "I miss Eden," I finally said, cringing a little. "Please don't be mad," I added quickly.

Sam stared at me. "Mad?" he echoed, and shook his head. "Rivan, why would I be mad about that?"

"Because I was just thinking how nice it would be if she could be here for Christmas, and Dean too," I said softly. "I was afraid you'd be mad because we wouldn't have any more time alone. If they come, I mean."

Sam stared again, and then suddenly he laughed. "Baby, I wouldn't get mad over something like that," he assured me. "To be honest, I've been thinking about asking you if you wanted to ask them to come, myself."

I brightened. "Really?"

Sam nodded. "Yep. So, I guess they're coming?"

I nodded and hugged him. "Yes, I want them too!"

"Good. Come on, let's get back inside. Then I'll call Dean. They'll need to leave now if they want to be here for Christmas."

I followed him inside eagerly, and Sam led me into the living room where we both flopped down on the couch. Within minutes he had his brother on the phone. Sam wasted no time in sharing our idea with Dean, and soon I was talking to Eden, both of us excited that we would get to spend Christmas together after all. She promised to bring my laptop with her, which was good because I knew I'd need it to sync my iPod to. Anyway, when I finally hung up, I was so excited I was nearly jumping up and down.

Smiling, I crawled into Sam's lap and kissed him deeply. We sat there together until the sun began to set, and then we went into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Afterwards we were back in the living room, snuggled up next to each other with the fire going. We sat up and just talked until midnight, and then we went upstairs and fell in bed together. I curled up next to Sam and he put his arms around me. He dropped small kisses on my cheek, and then my neck and shoulder. I fell asleep to the feel of his wonderful lips on my skin.

I never felt more complete.

* * *

><p>Cool blue eyes gazed out upon a fairy tale scene. A yard full of freshly fallen snow. Ice crystals sparkled on the trees and the black car that was parked in front of a large house. Shifting slightly, one could see into the house, right through the window. Inside a man and a woman were seated on a long couch, close together while flames danced in the fireplace before them. It was the perfect picture for the front of a Christmas card. The couple laughed softly, adding to the beauty of the scene.<p>

Those cool, blue eyes watching the couple blinked slowly, and a man with golden hair moved a fraction of an inch behind the bush he was crouched in. He continued to watch, not making a sound. For a moment he kept his eyes on the woman. She was just as beautiful as the reports had claimed. And her eyes…such deep blue, stunning eyes! Her laughter was like music and the beauty of her face took his breath away.

"So beautiful," the man murmured as he watched her. "And so powerful. But yet…you do not even know it." For a handful of heartbeats he remained perfectly still. "You will," he promised in a whisper. Then in the blink of an eye, he was gone. Mere seconds later, he appeared on the edges of the property. Anger now caused his cool blue eyes to flash like ice rimmed lightning. He had only to walk a small ways before he came across the one that had angered him so.

A man of medium height stepped out from behind a tree. His shaved head gleamed dully in the light of the winter moon, and his usually well trimmed goatee and mustache were a bit bushier than they tended to be. But the man with the cool blue eyes did not care about the appearance of the man that stood before him. He cared only about the mistake he had made.

"Did you see her?" the bald man asked.

"Yes, Adrien," the other man snapped, his temper close to spiraling out of control. The man named Adrien cringed and took a step back. "I saw her. But explain again why you called me here."

Adrien stood there and stared at him with a stupid expression on his face. "I thought you might want to see her in person," he said. "Oh, and her friend and the other Winchester brother is coming here for Christmas!" Adrien added.

The man with the cool blue eyes stared back at Adrien. "I don't care if they're coming here for Christmas!" he snarled. The air around the blue eyed man shimmered, and half a second later the man was suddenly behind Adrien. He grabbed him as he pulled a knife out, and Adrien cried out as the man put the sharp blade to his neck. "You fool!" the man with the knife hissed. "You stupid, bumbling fool! I told you not to call me unless the girl somehow got injured again! I cannot afford to teleport here on a whim! It takes much strength, and it is rather hard to explain my sudden disappearance to those around me! Idiot!"

With a guttural cry of rage the man shoved Adrien down on the ground and stood towering over him, knife still in hand. Adrien stared up at him, and then anger touched his own eyes. With a twisting move almost too fast to track, he jumped to his feet. As he did, a cloud of purple mist surrounded him, and a strange crunching and cracking sound issued from that mist. The man with the knife stood perfectly still. He knew what Adrien was doing, and he did not care.

So he watched with a bored expression until the mist disappeared, and once it was gone the man was greeted with the sight of a snarling, snapping timber wolf. "Your ability to transform does not impress," the man told Adrien, his tone smooth and silky. "Nor does it scare me. I have more powers than you could ever dream of, and just one of those powers outweighs what you have to offer." The wolf glared at him with slanted eyes and let out a low, menacing growl.

The man merely smiled. "You want another example of my powers?" he asked calmly. "Well then step forward, dog. I have time to teach you yet another lesson." In a move that definitely was impossible to track, the man pulled out another long knife. He held one in each hand, ready and waiting.

The animal before him eyed both knives carefully, and then looked at the man wielding them. Their eyes met, and all was quiet as they attempted to stare each other down. Minutes passed. The man did not move an inch, but the wolf was beginning to tremble. After a few more seconds of silence, the wolf suddenly whimpered, and very slowly he sank to the ground, his head down, his attitude one of surrender.

The man with the cool blue eyes laughed softly, and moments later the knives were gone, back to where ever he had pulled them from. "Very good," he said quietly. "You are not quite as stupid as you seem. Now listen to me, because I am only going to say this once. Leave. Now. I told you _not _to follow them," he said, pointing a finger back toward the house, where the man and woman were. "You could have easily given yourself away! Do not go near them again, unless I tell you to! And do not go near his brother or the other woman! The Winchesters are smart and well trained. If this is not handled correctly, they will pick up on something, and they will be gone before we know it! We cannot afford to lose that girl! And in case your brain is not following, I mean Rivan Langston."

Almost seething, the man took a threatening step toward the large wolf. The animal whimpered again, retreating as it did. "I will not allow my plans to be destroyed by a stupid, moronic shifter!" he told Adrien. He could feel his icy blue eyes begin to glow with his growing anger. But he did not care. "You leave them all alone, unless I tell you otherwise. I do not want you within five hundred miles of the Winchesters or their women! You've already gotten so close to her you've imprinted yourself into her dreams, you stupid fool!" For a moment the man with the blue eyes paused, breathing hard.

"I cannot believe such a power was wasted on someone like you. Not only can you shift into any animal you choose, but you can actually invade a person's dreams. And the worst part is, you can't even control the gifts you've been given."

The blue eyed man fell silent again. The wolf stayed very still. The blue eyed man swore. "You've done more than enough damage," he told the wolf. "Now leave. I don't care where you go. Just get out of this state. Forget the Winchesters for now until I call for you again."

For a moment the wolf did not move. Fury clouded the man's blue eyes, and with a cry he pulled his knife once more and lunged toward the animal. The wolf yelped loudly and turned away, fleeing with his tail tucked between his legs like the dog that he was. He disappeared from sight, but seconds later the sound of shifting could be heard, and moments after that a large raven flew into the sky, cawing as it went.

The man with the knife smiled as he watched it. He stood there and waited until the bird disappeared completely, and with a heavy sigh he re-sheathed his knife. Imbecile. He had to remind himself several times why he had hired that man to begin with. He was great at disguises obviously, and could go anywhere and basically stay undetected. But he had not been hired for his brains. Another obvious point.

Muttering again, the man made his way back to the house where the youngest Winchester and his woman were. When he got back, however, he saw that they were no longer downstairs. All the lights had been turned off, except for one upstairs. The blinds on the window in the lit room were closed. The stranger watched until the light went out. Now the house was completely dark, and no sounds could be heard.

But the man did not move. He had fully intended to teleport back home, but something drove him to stay. So, for another hour he hid among the bushes, just watching the house. Finally, though, the cold drove him away. He returned home, but he did not stay. Instead, after checking in and claiming that business had abruptly called him away, he returned to Maine and checked into a motel. Every day, he went back to the house where Sam and the woman stayed.

He watched the house for days. Weeks. He watched as Sam's brother came, bringing with him the woman named Eden. He watched as the two couples had snowball fights outside, the girls pitting themselves against the brothers. The man found it amusing that the girls won most of the snowball fights.

He watched as Christmas finally rolled around. He got close enough to the house on Christmas day, and listened as they exchanged presents. They were all so happy together. So in love. Watching them was both fascinating and irritating. For several reasons. But no matter the irritation, the strange man continued to watch. The days after Christmas flew by, and soon the occupants of the house rang in the New Year together.

Days later, they all began packing up. It was time for them to return to the real world. The stranger with the cool blue eyes was sorry to see it happen, for it meant that he too, must return to the real world. Though it was hard to do, he retreated before they did. He did not want to risk the chance that the Winchesters might pick up on something, or see something that would alert them to the fact that they were being watched.

Silently the man moved through the forest until he came to a clearing. Breathing in deeply, he stood in the center of the clearing, his hands clasped behind his back, concentrating, drawing power from within for what he was about to do. For a moment his mind wandered back to Rivan Langston. How he wished he could have taken her now, right under Sam Winchester's nose. But no matter. Soon.

"Yes," the man murmured softly to himself. "_Very _soon, my dear." The man exhaled, and seconds later he was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: That's it for now. Reviews are welcome as long as they are polite. Thank you for reading!**


	23. Marching On

**A/N: ****Hey all! Hope everyone's doing okay. I know it's been such a long time since I updated, and I'm sorry about that. My Internet was down for a whole month, and before that I just didn't feel like doing anything, even writing. But, I finally got this chapter done, and I'm glad about that. **

**So, this is the last chapter of this story. There's a part of me that's glad, and there's a part of me that's sad to see it end. Part of me feels proud that I got a whole story posted and done on here, so that's pretty cool. For me, anyway. I'd like to take a moment and thank a few people that have given me support and suggestions from start to end on this adventure. You all mean very much to me, and your support is priceless. So, right now I'd like to thank Sierra Rose 22, Ava Ward, wordswontstop (Rye) moonlitdreams65, caymus, sammygrrl00, wandamarie, Cornered Scream, felicat101, and browneyedchic for your words of encouragement, as well as your words of comfort when my father passed away. You're all wonderful. Never change.**

**And thank you to Peitho, who left a review that I had failed to see until now. It seems you're a guest, because I can't click on your name. I was going to send you a PM thanking you, but I'll just have to do that here. So, thank you so much for your review! It was nice seeing it, and it lifted my spirits. I'm so glad you've been enjoying the story!**

**Also, I would like to thank Reading Delight for showing me that the world will not end if someone does not like my story, and feels the need to be ugly in a review. I learned when things like this happen, life still goes on, and it is still good. So, thank you for that! ;-)**

**And now, without further ado, I present to you the final chapter of The Life Of A Winchester Woman. I hope you all enjoy it.**

* * *

><p><strong>Six Months later: Fort Worth, Texas<strong>

_SQUEAK_! _SQUEAK_!

"Rivan."

_SQUEAK_!

"Rivan." _SQUEAK_! "_Rivan_!"

Something small and soft suddenly made contact with my head, and my eyes flew open in shock. I was currently standing in the middle of a bed in a motel in Fort Worth, my ear buds in and listening to music on my iPod. Eden stood in the doorway of the room that connected to the one Sam and I shared, looking at me with a grin on her face. She had a rolled up sock in one hand, and I looked down to see another one resting on the bed, where it had fallen after colliding with my head. Smiling, I pulled the ear buds out.

"Did you just throw your sock at me?" I asked, trying to sound indignant.

Eden laughed. "Yep! But don't worry. That was a clean one," she added.

"Well thanks for that," I told her with a smirk. "Your dirty ones are like fluffy stink bombs."

I watched as my best friend's eyes went wide. A smile spread across her face, enhancing her natural beauty. "Hey!" she cried out, sounding indignant herself, though it was softened by amusment.

I grinned at her. "Just kidding!" I assured her. "So, what's up?" I asked as I jumped up and down on the bed a little. I'd been dancing on the mattress while listening to my music, and I was still in the mood to move. With Sam and Dean out on a job, I'd been bored all day long. This was the way I'd chosen to entertain myself.

Eden shook her head at me. "What're you doing?" she asked me.

"Listening to music," I said as I held my dangling ear buds up. "Girls Just Want To Have Fun!" I added. "Cyndi Lauper," I explained when Eden frowned.

"Oh!" she said, and then made a face at me. "Why are you listening to that old song?"

I shrugged. "Because I'm a girl and I just wanna have fun!" I told her, jumping up into the air and twirling around a bit.

Eden laughed. "It's a good thing we don't have neighbors," she said.

"Yeah, I'm glad we made sure so I could do this!" I told her, bouncing some more.

Eden rolled her eyes at me. "You've got a lot of energy today," she remarked.

"We've been stuck in this motel _all day_," I reminded her. "I've got to work my energy off somehow. Wanna join me?" I asked. "You can take the other bed." I pointed at the empty one next to me as I jumped and danced across the bed I was on.

Eden made another face at me. "I tried that already, remember?" she said with a frown. "Dean walked in and caught me. He said if he ever caught me doing it again, he'd spank me," she added with a pout. "If I did it now, he'd come in and catch me because I'm just that lucky. I don't want to get in trouble over it again."

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. "Dean can be way too uptight sometimes. Tell him to shove it!"

"Yeah, right," Eden said, her tone dry. "That wouldn't help much."

"True," I said. I paused a moment. "What was his problem with it, anyway?"

"He didn't want me to fall off the bed and hurt myself," she snorted.

"Geez, he can be such a worry wart sometimes," I said as I stretched my arms out, bringing them up over my head.

"I agree," Eden said with a sigh. She watched me for a moment and then suddenly frowned rather intensely. "Hey, didn't Sam catch you doing this, too? It was a few weeks ago, wasn't it?" she asked as she eyed me.

I let my arms drop down to my sides before giving her a wide eyed, innocent look. "What're you talking about? Didn't he catch me doing what?" I asked her in an almost perfect puzzled tone.

Eden gave me a look that promised she wasn't buying my act. "Jumping on a bed," she told me with narrowed eyes. "He caught you doing it and he wasn't very happy about it," she added.

I made a face at her. "Well…yeah. He did catch me." I admitted. Poo. Why did she have to remember that?

Eden nodded. "And didn't he tell you not to do it again?" she asked next.

I sighed. "Yep, he did!" I confirmed, grinning at her.

Eden groaned and folded her arms. "Rivan, you better stop, then. You don't want Sam to walk in and catch you. You know he wouldn't be happy if he found you doing it when he told you not to."

I snorted. "Nah, it'll be fine," I said, waving away her concern like the idiot I can be sometimes. "So what are you doing?"

She stared at me. "Surfing the Internet," she said. "I'm still using your laptop. Is that okay?"

Oh yeah, I did finally get my laptop back, by the way. "Of course!" I told her with a laugh. "Go, use it. I don't mind. I'm going to continue my dance routine." With that I began jumping up and down on the bed again, still grinning.

Eden groaned again. "Rivan! You really need to stop! You're gonna get in trouble! Please?" she begged me. "I hate it when you get in trouble. I hate to see you upset. And why are you suddenly doing something Sam told you not to do again? You've been really good at not getting yourself in trouble these past few months. Do you seriously want to throw all of your hard work down the drain just so you can jump on a bed?"

Now it was my turn to groan as I paused in my jumping. "Eden, give me a break!" I told her. "Like I said before, we've been stuck in this motel all day. I have to do something or I'll go crazy! Look," I added when Eden closed her eyes and shook her head. "Even if Sam did catch me, I don't think he'd come down on me too hard. He's been pretty patient with me since I've been doing so well at behaving myself. I've screwed up in little ways before now and all he usually does is chew me out."

"Yeah, I know, but like _I _said before, he wasn't at all happy the first time he caught you jumping on a bed. Do you really think he'd be so easy going if he caught you doing it again? Especially when he told you not to? Think, Rivan!" Eden moaned at me.

Well, crap. "Fine, I won't jump anymore," I told her. "I'll just stand here and listen to my music and think or something. But I won't jump!" I added. "I promise!" I vowed, hoping to make her feel better.

My promise didn't help much. "Oh, Rivvie!" Eden half wailed. "You're so damn stubborn sometimes! If you weren't my very best friend in the whole world, I'd call Sam right now and tell on you!"

I froze and stared at her. "You would not," I said in a horrified whisper.

Eden groaned again and shoved her fingers through her rich, black hair before swearing. "Of course I wouldn't!" she snapped, clearly frustrated. "But I just don't want you to get in trouble! What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing," I admitted. "Nothing at all. But I promise I won't get in trouble. I'll listen for Sam and when I hear him unlocking the door, I'll get off the bed real quick. Okay?"

She sighed loudly and glared at me, but I could see the reluctant defeat in her eyes. "Fine," she grumbled. "Just be sure to really listen, okay? Sometimes you go off to la-la land and forget what you need to be doing."

"I do not!" I told her, grinning now.

"You do too," Eden insisted. "Now remember, just listen. I'm going back to my room now. Keep an ear out for tall, strong, and grumpy," she added as she turned to leave.

I laughed. "He's not always grumpy," I told her. She muttered something but I didn't catch it, and then she was gone.

For a moment I just stood there on the bed thinking, and then with a sigh I put my ear buds back in. The iPod had switched to a new song while Eden and I had been talking, and quickly I put it back on my Cyndi Lauper song. After setting it on repeat play, I started up my dance routine, figuring it would be okay for a little while, at least. Hey, I couldn't help it. I'm the kind of person that just has to keep moving. But as I danced back and forth listening to my music, my mind wandered a little.

This was what I usually did with my days anymore. Well, not all the time. My days weren't always this boring. After leaving the Maine house in January, we'd gone back to our regular routine. In the last six months, Eden and I had traveled all over the United States with Sam and Dean. There seemed to be plenty of monster cases to keep the guys busy, and most of the time Eden and I stayed holed up in whatever motel room Sam and Dean put us in.

But we weren't always doomed to stare at motel walls. Recently, Sam and Dean had set up a system for us, so to speak. To make a long story short, they'd made it to where Eden and I could actually go to malls and movies from time to time. It had taken a while to get this system set up, though.

Sam and Dean had told us that if we wanted to be able to go out and do stuff like that, we had to learn a few things. For example, we both had to learn the spell to exorcise a demon, as well as the spell to make our own Holy water. I already had half of that one memorized, so that part was easy for me. Then we had to learn how to make a devil's trap. Though I had made one in Maine, Sam said I could use some practice. Ugh. But anyway, once that was all done, we then had to buy new, huge purses so we could carry all the protective things that Sam and Dean said we had to have on us.

The things on our protective list were many things, like small squirt bottles of Holy water, rosaries to make more Holy water, salt shakers full of rock salt, about a dozen different amulets, a small silver knife, a small brass knife, a small iron knife, pepper spray, a lock pick, a backup cell phone, a backup credit card, a hex bag, a backup hex bag, a fake ID, a backup fake ID, a short list of friendly contacts in case Eden and I can't reach Bobby for some reason, and spray paint in case we need to make a devil's trap.

Needless to say, the purses Eden and I carried were heavy and often a pain to carry around. Quite literally. After walking around a mall for about twenty minutes, my right shoulder, where I always slung my purse, would start to ache. Then I'd switch it to my other shoulder, only to have it start aching soon after that. Eden was the same. I don't know how many times we had to sit down and rest just because our purses were so heavy.

But in the end, a heavy purse was a small price to pay for the freedom of going to the mall or to the movies. Sometimes Eden and I got to do both. We didn't get to go all the time, though. There were rules in place about it. Whenever we stopped at a town for Sam and Dean to do a job, they always had to take a few days to check things out and see how dangerous it was. In the past they had done many jobs where the danger was affecting the entire town. If that was the case, then shopping trips were out of the question.

But if they were hunting a ghost or some other creature that only stayed in one spot, Sam and Dean felt comfortable enough to let us have a little fun. But we couldn't just up and go. Before we left, Sam and Dean always checked our supplies and made sure we had plenty of everything. I don't know why. Eden and I had yet to use any of the items we carried. I think Sam and Dean were afraid that we'd sneak stuff out of our purses, just to ease the weight we had to carry.

But Eden and I would never jeopardize a trip to the mall. Often when Sam and Dean dropped us off at one, we'd be there hours at a time, and we always had a blast. But we had rules we had to follow while we were at the mall, as well. Of course, the main rule: Do not leave the mall for any reason, unless some natural disaster hit. We'd been told more than once that, if we ever left the mall, there would be no more going to them or movies for a solid six months. Not to mention the fact that we wouldn't be able to sit very comfortably during most of those six months. Needless to say, Eden and I took these warnings very seriously.

And then there was the money rule. We were not allowed to use our credit cards, unless it was an emergency. Finding a pair of shoes or an outfit that we just _had_ to have was not an emergency, as we'd been told. We could only use cash while shopping. Of course, we didn't have any money of our own, but we did have very sweet, loving boyfriends.

Since we'd started this whole mall and movies business, Sam and Dean had been putting in extra time at the pool and poker tables. It was the best way for them to get cash. The money they got from these activities no longer covered just food, motel, and gas fare. They now gambled for money to give to us so we could eat while in a mall, and sometimes even buy a little something that took our fancy.

But sometimes the money issues were another reason why Eden and I couldn't always go have that kind of fun. Sometimes there just wasn't enough money left for us to do that. When that problem came up, we never ever complained. Sam and Dean worked hard to bring down terrible creatures pretty much every day, and now on top of it they took even more time out of their days just to win money to give to us for shopping and eating purposes. I often felt guilty about it, and Eden did too. Whenever one of us voiced these feelings though, we were immediately told not to worry about it.

"We want you two to have as normal a life as you possibly can," Sam had told us one day while driving down the road. "Dean and I don't mind getting extra money so you girls can go have some fun every now and then."

"But you guys don't get to have any fun," I'd pointed out.

"Sure we do," Dean had tossed in. "You think it's not fun to gank monsters every day? Sam and I have the time of our lives doin' that."

"Speak for yourself," Sam had muttered.

Dean had glanced over at him. "What, you don't think saving lives is fun?" he demanded sharply.

Sam had sighed loudly. "I never said that, Dean," he'd replied, his tone dark. "All I'm saying is, it's not always fun to cut heads off of things, or stab them, or any of the other ways we kill things. But the satisfaction of saving a life _is_ worth all of that. That's why I do it. That's always why I've done it. That, and because I can protect the ones I love by ridding the world of every monster I can get a hold of."

Dean didn't say anything to that, and I had been glad because I could see that the conversation could have easily turned into a nasty argument. But I still couldn't help but feel bad about the mall situation. Though, later that night while in bed, Sam had gathered me in his arms and again assured me that he didn't mind doing what he had to in order to make me smile. He begged me not to worry about it and just enjoy it, and I had gone ahead and done so. Making me happy made him happy, after all. Maybe thinking like that made me a serious brat, huh?

But anyway, that was the biggest change in my life of traveling with Sam and Dean. It made a life of constant traveling not quite as boring. Another good thing about my life now was the fact that I hadn't had any more bad dreams. Not even one. Sam asked me about it all the time, and I was always happy to say that no bad dreams were haunting my nights. And even better, I hadn't felt strange at all, in any way shape or form. Life was going pretty good. But of course, there were always bumps in the road.

As far as spankings went, I hadn't had one for six whole months. Well, let me re-word that. I hadn't had a _serious_ one for six whole months. I'd gotten a few swats here and there for my bratty attitude and stubbornness, because I just can't seem to give those two habits up completely. Though I do have to admit, I don't pull that on Sam as much as I used to. Like Eden had said, I've been doing pretty good at behaving myself. Of course, that had a lot to do with the fact that I knew Sam had brought that brush from the Maine house with him. The Hell Brush. Ugh. I hated that thing! But its presence and Sam's sternness kept me in line well enough. As a result, so far I've managed to get by with just a few swats.

So yeah, I'm happy to report that I haven't had a long, hard spanking since the last one Sam gave me in Maine. My biggest spanking since then had consisted of five smacks, due to an intense brat fit I'd had on Sam one evening when he wouldn't let me come with him to a bar he was going to with the intent of playing detective. It had been for a job, of course. But anyway, after I had stupidly stomped my foot at him during my fit, he had taken me by surprise when he had marched me over to the bed, sat down, and pulled me down across his lap to deliver those five smacks. It had been the first time I'd been over his lap like that since Maine. Thankfully that had been the only punishment I'd gotten that day. It had been more than enough.

Eden hadn't gotten a lot of spankings in the past six months either. But I do have to say that between the two of us, she's gotten the worse one, and not that long ago, either. One of the other reasons why we hadn't suffered much from warm buns was because it wasn't always plausible for Sam and Dean to deliver that kind of punishment. For one thing, it was hard to do in motel rooms because of the noise factor. A serious butt blistering was out of the question while in a motel. Both Eden and I picked up on that, and for a very short while Eden used it to her advantage. Her attitude was, "Ha, ha! You can't spank me while we're in a motel because everyone will hear!"

While that part was true, more or less, what Eden didn't realize, and I don't know why, is that Dean was more than willing to give a spanking somewhere else. One morning she had woken up in a very sassy, daring mood, which had carried over from the night before, actually. Anyway, she had whined and complained and pouted about everything, and when Dean had finally told her to knock it off or else, she had promptly flipped him off, cursing at him while she did.

We'd been ready to go at that point, and once Eden was done with her fit, Dean had marched her outside and put her in the backseat of the Impala. After checking out we'd left, and it had been dead quiet in the car. Dean hadn't taken us directly to the Interstate as usual. Instead he drove around the small town, which he had gotten to know very well since we had spent two whole weeks there.

"Dean, what're you doing?" Sam had asked him. Dean hadn't responded, and no one spoke after that. Well, what Dean had been doing was taking us to a quiet, deserted, dead end road that he had discovered not long after we'd pulled into town. This road was on the outskirts of town, far from all eyes and ears.

Unfortunately for Eden, this was where she got her spanking. Dean had pulled over, jerked her out of the car, and marched her over to the trunk of the Impala. Then he'd sat down right there, pulled Eden over his lap, and had laid into her butt, making her howl in shock and pain. Of course I had attempted to get out of the car to help her, but Sam had only to say my name to stop me. I'd already had the door open, but I closed it quickly when he'd growled out a warning.

"Don't think I won't pull you out of this car and do the same thing," he'd told me once I had the door shut and my seatbelt back on.

I had wisely kept my mouth shut. Like I said, the memory of that brush on my bare butt was more than enough to keep me in line. I still tested Sam, but nowhere near as much or as badly as I used to. And not _just _because I was trying to avoid a spanking. I was still working hard on being a better behaved girlfriend for the man that deserved one. But, just like everyone else, I'm not perfect. But hey, I do try!

After Eden's roadside spanking, Sam and Dean put in a new punishment system, so to speak. Now, when we got in trouble and handing out a spanking wasn't something that could easily be done, we could expect to get grounded. Being grounded while on the road meant no mall or movies for however long the grounding was for. And depending on how serious the crime was, we could also expect early bedtime to be enforced as well. Both Eden and I had been grounded at least twice so far. Two weeks was the most we'd ever gotten since this started.

Let me tell you, it had been hell. Because if just one of us gets grounded, it's like the other gets punished too. If Eden can't go to any malls or movies for a week or two, that meant I couldn't either. And vice versa. Neither one of us were permitted to go out alone. Because of that we both tried to stay out of trouble as often as possible.

When I got in trouble, Sam often used other punishments if I hadn't done anything bad enough to get grounded over, or spanked. Since he had made me stand in the corner that one time in Maine, he now thought it was a good idea to make me do it if I couldn't control my smart mouth. Oh, how I _hated _to stand in the corner! It was embarrassing and frustrating. I swear, I almost would rather get spanked. Almost. Not quite. A spanking from Sam was still the most dreaded punishment. Corner time took second place. But I had to be thankful about one thing. Sam didn't make me do it very often. The only time he sends me to a corner is when he's seriously pissed. So far, he had only gotten that pissed twice.

Anyway, when I have gotten that particular punishment, it didn't always end with corner time. Depending on what I had done or said, once I got out of the corner, Sam would make me go to bed, no matter what time it was. Once he made me go to bed at six in the evening. I complained a little too much and actually got a few swats right there in the motel, though there hadn't been much noise for any outsiders to pick up on. I'd been too shocked to make much noise, to be honest.

I'd yet to get a roadside spanking, or an RSS as Eden and I were calling it nowadays. A stupid name for it I know, but oh well. But at least that was one thing I can say that I've managed to avoid so far. For which I am very, very glad. I mean, come on! A spanking right there on the side of the road? How embarrassing can you get? Only Sam and Dean can be that determined to carry out a spanking. Ugh.

Anyway, that about sums up the last six months. A lot has changed. Most of it for the better, thankfully. Sam's love for me was still gentle and tender, though as always he was not afraid to use a firm hand when he needed to. But as I said before, those times didn't come up as often as they used to. Sam and I now share a room, because since my incident in the cemetery, I found I still needed him close in order to sleep. I only felt safe at night with his strong arms wrapped around me, ready to protect me if need be. Perhaps this made me weak. Well, I say to hell with that. A person has to do what's needed to survive.

So yes, to put it very simply and plainly, I am very happy with how my life is going. There's not a thing I'd change about it. Except maybe Dean's music. The good thing about that is I don't have to hear it very often. Now that I have my iPod, I can just listen to my own music, thank you very much.

Sometimes, though, I just like to bug him about it. Hey, I gotta get my kicks somewhere while stuck in the Impala for hours at a time. And it gives Dean someone new to argue with besides Sam. I know Sam appreciates the break. As long as I don't get too bratty or pushy with my comments and make Dean mad, Sam doesn't say anything about me picking on his brother's music. That makes me laugh. Quietly, of course.

Still jumping up and down on my 'trampoline', I smiled as I hummed along with Cyndi Lauper. Of course by this point, as I am sure you have guessed, I'd completely forgotten about listening for Sam. I'd also forgotten that I had promised not to jump on the bed. Still humming, I did a little twirl, which led me to face the other bed. Without much thought I hopped the distant between the two beds, landing smoothly on the new bed. Singing softly now, I did a few more twirls, and then for a moment I stood there facing the wall, lost in thought. Then I leapt back over to the bed I had started out on, and then right back on the other. I jumped up and down in place for a few minutes and turned back around to face the door of our motel room. The second I did I found myself eye level with a pair of wide, hazel colored eyes.

I let out a little shriek and stumbled back, but half a second later my brain caught up with me. Grinning from ear to ear, I launched myself at the tall man standing there. "Sam!" I cried out as he caught me. My legs automatically wrapped about his waist while my arms slid around his neck. I loved the fact that he could catch me like this so easily. Keeping one arm hooked around his neck, I turned the volume on my iPod down with my free hand. As soon as that was done I laid a good kiss on him, which he quickly returned.

"It's about time you got back," I told him as I gave a little pout. "Are you okay?" I asked. That was the first thing I always asked him.

"Yep, I'm good," he assured me. "How are you, baby?"

"Bored!" I answered instantly. "You've been gone way too long. It's so boring when you're gone!" I complained.

Sam rolled his eyes at me and grinned, showing off those heart fluttering dimples of his. "You didn't look too bored to me when I walked in. What're you listening to?" he asked before I could say anything. I opened my mouth to answer but he suddenly reached up and plucked the ear bud out of my right ear. He held it up to his ear, and I turned the volume back up a little. As soon as I did he rolled his eyes again.

"Oh come on," he said as he dropped the ear bud. "Cyndi Lauper? Seriously?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.

I made a face at him. "Eden pretty much said the same thing. What's wrong with Cyndi Lauper?" I wanted to know.

Sam shrugged. "Nothing, I guess. Though she _is _a little on the strange side," he said, his eyes twinkling.

I gave his shoulder a little pinch. "You're making fun of me," I complained. "It's not nice to stay out all day and then come back and make fun of me."

He laughed softly. "I'm not making fun of you," he said as he leaned down to drop a kiss on my neck.

The feel of his warm lips on such sensitive skin sent a tingling sensation all over my body. "You are too," I insisted, trying to keep track of our conversation.

"Am not," he whispered as he moved his lips up to meet mine. Any comment I might have made to that flew right out of my head then. Sam kissed me gently for what felt like several wonderful minutes. And then quite suddenly he pulled back a little. When our lips parted I looked up at him, pouting.

He flashed a smile at me. "Sorry, but we're gonna have to put the love on pause for a moment," he said with a sigh. "Unfortunately, I have to do a little chewing out right now. Might as well get it over with."

I blinked, and my heart began to race. "What? Why?" I asked, almost in a whisper. Of course, I knew exactly why I was about to get chewed out. _Crap_. Before Sam could answer, I caught movement behind him, and I looked to see Eden was back at the door, peering in at us. Our eyes met and Eden bit down on her lip. She shook her head at me, and I could see the sad _I told you so_ in her eyes.

"Eden," Sam suddenly said, making both of us jump. "Go back into your room. Dean should be right behind me," he added. "I ended up walking back here while he went to do something, but he should be back any minute. Go wait for him. And pull your door around," he added, turning slightly so he could see her better. "But don't close it all the way. Leave it open just a little."

Eden stared at him but didn't move. Just like it was hard for me to take orders from Dean, it was hard for Eden to take orders from Sam. Though she doesn't butt heads with Sam as much as I do with Dean, they still have tense moments whenever Sam gives her an order. Dean didn't require Eden to call Sam 'sir', just like Sam didn't require me to call Dean 'sir', but Dean did expect Eden to listen to Sam when he told her to do something. Just like, of course, Sam expected me to listen to Dean when he told me to do something. If an order is ignored, we get told on and then have to answer to our respective man. The end results are not fun.

I held onto Sam nervouly as he and Eden attempted to stare each other down. Eden lost, of course. Making a small but audible noise of frusteration, she turned sharply around and stomped back into the room she shared with Dean. She pushed the door around a little like Sam had told her to, and once that was done Sam turned away from the door and fixed me with a firm look.

"You were jumping on the beds when I walked in, Rivan," he told me in response to my question.

I flinched a little. Great. Why hadn't I just stopped jumping? Eden was right when she said I go off to la-la land and forget what I need to be doing. That was my fault, no one elses. Didn't mean I had to he bappy about it, though. For a moment I was quiet as Sam stared down at me, waiting. Finally I cleared my throat and spoke. The best I could come up with was pretty lame.

"I was being careful," I told him as I reached down with one hand to fiddle with his tie. He'd been playing the FBI role today and had worn one of his suits.

Sam let loose with a not so quiet sigh. "That's not the point, Rivan," he told me, his tone patient but still firm. "I caught you jumping on a bed three weeks ago," he continued. "What did I tell you when I caught you doing that?"

The sigh I let out then was about as quiet as Sam's had been. "Not to do it again," I muttered as I studied the diamond pattern on his tie.

"That's right," Sam said softly, almost gently. I glanced up at him at the sound of that tone. I've noticed lately that when I do get in trouble, Sam has more of a tendnacy to be gentle when speaking to me. He didn't yell much, and he always handled me softly and carefully. Even when he was mad. Though there were times when he didn't always speak softly to me, I could pretty much count on being handled in an almost loving manner. Even when he spanked me, he turned me around carefully, his hands soft and patient. Or that time when he actually pulled me over his lap, he did it gently.

Of course, all of this gentlness did not mean I was in for a light spanking. Sam was always good at getting my attention real fast, and leaving a lasting impression. Not abusive, but firm and precise, making no mistake in letting me know I had done wrong and it wasn't going to be tolerated.

"So," Sam continued, drawing me out of my thoughts. "Why did you do it after I told you not to?" he asked next, still patiently.

I looked up at him, opened my mouth, then closed it. Sam waited, his lips set in a firm line. "I don't know," I finally said. "But I was going to stop!" I added quickly when Sam's eyebrows shot up and he frowned at me. He hated the "I don't know" answer. Despite being more gentle nowadays, he had almost no patience for the "I don't know" response.

"Oh, really?" he asked, his tone a bit dry. "Then why didn't you stop?"

I bit down on my lower lip for a moment. "You want an honest answer?" I asked, my voice small.

"Always," he replied, his eyes meeting mine and holding them captive.

Well of course he wanted an honest answer. Why did I bother asking? I took a deep breath and stared up at him, wishing I could look away. "Because I forgot to," I told him in a near whisper.

Sam narrowed his eyes and gave me a weird look. "You didn't stop jumping because…you _forgot_ to?" he asked, his tone suggesting he was having a hard time wrapping his mind around that one.

I shrugged a little. "Yeah," I said in a tinier voice.

"Rivan," he began, and paused. He sighed, closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them again. "How do you _forget _to stop doing something you know you shouldn't be doing in the first place?"

"I…well…I…Eden and I were talking, and she said I should stop because she didn't want me to get in trouble, and I promised her I would stop, but then I started to listen to my music again and my mind wandered and I meant to stop but then you walked in and I…just forgot." I ended my rambling lamely. I took another deep breath, a slightly shuddering deep breath actually, and looked up at Sam.

"That's not a good reason," Sam told me as he studied me. "You know that, Rivan," he added with a shake of his head.

"I know," I replied, swallowing hard.

"It wouldn't have been as bad if you had just been jumping on one bed," he said. "But you were jumping back and forth, from one bed to the other. Seriously, Rivan. You know better. I mean, that's what little kids do. How old are you, five?"

I actually snorted. "Well, I should hope not," I replied. "Otherwise, we'd be very illegal," I added. Okay, don't ask me why I just popped that one out there. Especially at a time like this. I guess sometimes I have this sassy side that just loves to show off at the worst possible time. Either that, or I'm just really stupid. You decide.

Apparently Sam decided I was just being plain sassy. I watched as his jaw clentched, and my eyes went wide when the muscle in his jaw twitched a little. When that happened, I knew I was in danger of stepping in it way over my head.

Some of the patience and gentleness vanished from Sam's eyes, and his demeanor. "That is _not_ funny, Rivan," he told me quietly, despite the fact that he was a bit more mad now than he was seconds ago.

"Oh, come on," I bravely pushed on. "It's a little funny."

"No," Sam said, his tone sharp now. Sharp enough to make me jump a bit. "It's not funny, Rivan. Not even a little bit."

Well, crap. "Okay, fine," I said softly. "So it's not funny. I'm sorry," I added in a small voice.

That seemed to relax him some. "Good," he said, his tone somewhat mild now. "Back to our conversation. So, you were jumping back and forth on the beds, and you were moving way too fast by the way, just like a child would. I don't know how many times you've told me that you are not a child." He fell silent for a moment, staring at me and making me squirm. "Have you changed your mind about that?" he asked me. "Have you decided to throw caution to the wind and act like the child you're supposedly not?"

Okay, he was getting madder by the second. I could sense it. His tone had changed again, as had the look in his eyes. The hazel color had darkened, just like it always did when he got mad. I suddenly got a terrible urge to start cussing. Mainly at myself. But I stuck with answering his question in a more simple way.

"No," I told him. "But—"

"No buts," Sam interrupted me, gently pressing a finger against my lips. "You could have slipped and hit your head on one of those nightstands," he added, nodding at the two nightstands that were between the beds.

I sighed loudly and let out a small whimper. "I know," I moaned. "But I didn't!"

Sam frowned at me. "Okay, wait a minute. You knew you could have hurt yourself, but you did it anyway?" he asked, and his voice went up another notch on the stern and angry tone.

I swallowed hard. Geez, how was I supposed to get out of this one? I'd just gone and made it from bad to worse. "I was bored," I stupidly told him. Oh yeah, that would make it so much better.

Sam's frown intensified. "You have an iPod, a laptop, books, and the TV to watch. You have plenty to keep yourself entertained. You don't need to jump on beds for entertainment. Especially since there's a good chance that you can get hurt," he added, his tone sharper now.

Suddenly my eyes began to sting. "Sam…I'm sorry," I said in a tiny voice. "I just…I guess I've gotten used to going to malls and walking around, getting rid of my energy, but we didn't get to this time." The money had been low and Sam and Dean hadn't had any extra to give us. "I haven't done anything but lay around all day, and it was driving me crazy," I explained as a tear escaped and slid down my cheek.

Sam sighed at the sight of that tear before leaning in and kissing it away. "I understand that," he said, and thank the Lord his tone was softer this time. "But that doesn't mean you can jump on the beds. Or jump from one bed to the other. Like I said, you could have easily slipped and cracked your head open on one of those nightstands. Even if you had hit the floor you could have done that. You know how hard motel floors are. It was a stupid stunt that could have gotten you seriously injured. The fact that you knew you could get hurt but did it anyway makes it worse, Rivan. That's called deliberately putting yourself in danger, you know," he added quietly.

I froze and stared at him in horror. Oh, crap, crap, crap, _crap_! I well remembered the punishment Sam promised me if I ever knowingly put myself in danger again. And of course I knew he had that terrible Hell Brush from the Maine house. He kept it in his bag all the time. Why hadn't I thought about all of this before now?

I continued to stare at him as more tears began to spill over. "Sam, please," I begged, my voice still small. "I'm sorry I did it. Please don't spank me. Please!" I moaned as I wrapped my arms around his neck. I buried my face in the crook of his neck and whimpered a little. Surely he wouldn't spank me with the Hell Brush just because I jumped on the beds! I mean, sure, I know he told me not to, but still!

Much to my surprise, and relief, Sam gave me a squeeze and then dropped a kiss on my head. "Can you give me a good reason why I shouldn't?" he asked me. "I told you not to jump on anymore beds, but you did anyway. You did it knowing you weren't supposed to, and you did it knowing you may get hurt. You already admitted that." I moaned again, louder this time, and then started to cry quietly.

Sam took a deep breath and then began to rub my back in that wonderful, tender way of his. "Rivan," he said quietly. I moaned in response. "I don't like to spank you," he told me. "You know that. But sometimes you leave me no choice, baby. I gave you a very simple order when I caught you jumping on that bed the first time. Don't do it again. I know you understood me," he said in a surprisingly gentle tone. "You made that clear. So why did you go and do it again?" he asked me, sounding frustrated and disappointed.

Of course I couldn't respond. All I could do was cry. I shook my head and pressed my face against his best FBI jacket, drenching it with tears. At that point I got my voice back, but I could only think to say one thing. "Please don't spank me!" I begged again, my voice a small wail this time.

Sam sighed. "You can't give me a good reason why I shouldn't spank you?" he asked me softly. "And I'm sorry, but because you don't want me to is not a good reason," he added. I shook my head again but didn't answer. He just took away the only reason I could give him. For a moment Sam just stood there and held me, gently swaying me back and forth while he rubbed my back. He gave me another gentle squeeze, and then suddenly I felt him tugging on the iPod I'd slipped in the right back pocket of my jeans.

Confused, I pulled away quickly and looked up at him, my tears still streaming down my face. "What are you doing?" I asked him, my voice wobbly.

Sam didn't answer until he had the iPod all the way out. Once that was done, he pulled the other ear bud out of my left ear and then held the iPod up. "This is mine for a week," he told me firmly, his face set in those stern lines that so annoyingly made him look more handsome somehow.

My mouth dropped open. "What? You're taking my iPod away from me for a whole week just because I jumped on the beds?"

Sam pressed his lips together and gave me a look that clearly said _You have got to be kidding me_. "No, I'm taking your iPod away for a whole week because you did something that I told you not to do again. Something that could have easily caused you to get seriously hurt," he added, and his tone was much harder now. "I'm being _very _nice by not spanking you for that, Rivan. If you object to this punishment I can always change my mind and spank you," he added darkly.

I know my eyes went as round as saucers at that. "No, don't!" I wailed as I wrapped my arms around his neck again, hiding my face.

"Okay, then," Sam said, his tone a little softer this time. "So no iPod for a week," he said as he began to rub my back again. "If you bug me about giving it back to you before the week is out, I'll tack on another week, and give you a spanking on top of it. Is that understood?"

I sniffled. "Yes, sir," I moaned. Geez, this sucked! I loved my iPod. So unfair.

"Good," Sam murmured as he continued to run his hand up and down my back. "Look at me, Rivan," he ordered softly. I made a face against his neck but pulled back so I could look at him. He stared down at me, his eyes stern. "No more jumping on beds. Ever. It's nuts, Rivan. There's no reason for it. I shouldn't have to say that to my girlfriend." We stared at each other for a moment. "If I ever catch you doing it again, I won't hesitate. I _will _spank you. Do you understand me?"

Ugh. "Yes, sir," I said again with a sigh. "I won't do it again. I promise."

Sam nodded. "Good. I'm not talking about the hair brush this time," he added, and I looked up at him in surprise. "But if you cross me on this again, I will take my belt off. Understand?"

I bit down on my lower lip for a moment. In my book, Sam's belt was as bad as the hair brush. "Yes, sir," I said again as I gave his tie a nervous tug.

"That's my good girl," he said gently as he pulled his tie out of my hand. When he was done with that, I watched with sad eyes as he tucked my iPod into his pants pocket.

I was so despondent over it, I actually decided to push my luck a little. "So I really don't get possible early parole for good behavior?" I asked him as I stared up at him.

"Have you ever?" he wanted to know, those darn eyebrows up again.

"Well, sometimes," I said. "But not very often," I had to admit.

Sam nodded. "Exactly. I think I gave you, as you call it, early parole due to good behavior once. And that was several months ago. So no, no early parole. No matter how well you behave." I let out a loud groan of disappointment and frustration, and Sam gave me a gentle kiss before leaning down and carefully depositing me onto the bed.

"But Sam, that means I have to listen to Dean's music for an entire week!" I pointed out, trying not to sound too whiny. "You know I don't like his music."

"I know," Sam replied as he slipped his jacket off. He began to roll up his sleeves, and I watched him.

I gritted my teeth at his response. "And you know how awful his music can be most of the time," I continued, praying I wasn't pushing my luck too much. "His music gives me a headache," I added, sounding rather desperate. "Please Sam, can't you take something else away?"

"Like what?" he asked as he finished rolling up his left sleeve and starting on his right. **"**Your ability to sit down?**"** Without pausing in what he was doing, he looked over at me, his eyes sharp and full of warning.

Instantly I cringed away from him. "No!" I said quickly, the desperation in my voice going up about twenty notches.

"Then stop whining and trying to get me to change my mind," Sam growled at me. "You don't get to pick your punishments, Rivan. That's my job. Your punishment for acting like a little kid and jumping all over the beds is no iPod for a week. Deal with it, or it'll be two weeks, along with a sore butt. Just like I said before. I don't like repeating myself, Rivan. Don't make me do it again. Do you understand me?"

My shoulders slumped and I crossed my arms over my chest. "Yes, sir," I muttered as I glared down at the ugly motel floor.

"Good," Sam said, his tone still heated. "I'm so glad we see eye to eye on this."

I didn't give him any response to that, which was probably a good idea. Instead I just sat there on the bed, giving the carpeting dirty looks and feeling sorry for myself, as well as cursing at myself for jumping on the beds to begin with. Ugh.

While I sat there quietly Sam moved around, packing his things up. It was still kind of early in the afternoon and we planned on checking out soon. Then we'd get something to eat and get on the road again. Thinking about that reminded me that I wouldn't have my iPod, and all I could do was pray that Dean wouldn't play any of his bad music. Some of the songs he played I didn't mind listening to, but for the most part I just couldn't stand it. Sam had learned long ago to tune it out, though I have to say that he did at least ask Dean to turn the crap down. At least that was on my side.

But that didn't make me feel any better. So I just sat there pouting while Sam finished packing his stuff. Once he was done and had taken another look around, he turned and headed toward me. I didn't look up as he approached me, and I still didn't look at him when he sat down next to me. We were both quiet for a few moments, and then Sam nudged me.

"So I guess you're mad at me now, huh?" he asked me.

I didn't say anything for a moment. Then I sighed. "If I say yes, will you give me my iPod back?" I asked him, keeping my eyes on the floor.

He laughed, and despite my annoyance the sound relaxed me. But his next words didn't. "Nope!" he said, his tone almost cheerful. "Not a chance," he added as he patted my leg.

"Well you don't have to sound so happy about it!" I half wailed as I turned and looked up at him.

"I'm not happy about it, Rivan. It's just amusing how stubborn you can be sometimes," he said as he reached up and carefully tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "I know you're upset, but what exactly did you think would happen if I caught you jumping on beds again?"

I made a face and picked at a thread on the comforter beneath me. "I don't know," I moaned. "Eden did it not too long ago and Dean caught her doing it," I reminded him. "He just let her off with a warning. I guess I was hoping you'd do the same with me," I told him.

"Rivan!" Sam groaned at me. "I let you off with a warning the first time I caught you doing it. You know I only give you one warning. If you're insane enough to ignore me and do whatever you did again, you know there's no second chances. You get caught, you get punished. It's as simple as that. Nothing's changed, baby. I've made that clear on more than one occasion. And plus, you know you didn't help yourself at all when you admitted that you knew what you were doing was potentially dangerous, but went ahead and did it anyway."

I let out an even louder groan and closed my eyes. Curse my stupid mouth! Moaning, I crossed my arms over my chest and whimpered. "I have a big mouth," I grumbled.

Sam laughed softly. "Sometimes," he agreed, and I made a face. "But seriously, Rivan. What did you really think would happen if I caught you jumping on the beds like that?"

I shrugged while I pouted. "I thought you would just chew me out," I told him.

Sam snorted. "Come on, Rivan. Did you _really _think I'd let you off that easy?" Sam asked me quietly.

I shrugged again. "Yes. No. I don't know. I guess I just didn't think it all the way through," I admitted.

"See, there's your problem right there," Sam pointed out. "You never think. You just do. If you would just pause and think about your actions before you carried them out, things would work out better for you. If you stopped and considered the consequences of your actions, you wouldn't get in trouble as much. But you don't ever think, baby," he said as he put his arm around me. Groaning, I rested my head on his shoulder. "You've been doing pretty good on working to change that habit, but you need to keep at it. I think this is your biggest slip up since Maine. It wasn't the worst thing you could have done. Not by far. And that's very good. It's progress. But you still shouldn't have done it."

He gave me a gentle squeeze, and I sniffled. "I'm sorry," I told him in a small voice.

"I know," he said, his voice soft and patient. "Just don't do it again. Okay?" I nodded as I sighed loudly. "Good," Sam said as he gave me another squeeze. "Let's not talk about it anymore." Before I could say anything, he glanced at his watch. "Dean should be back by now," he said, the frown in his voice obvious. "I wish he'd get back here so we can—"

The sound of the motel door opening in the next room cut Sam off, and we both turned toward the door that connected us to Dean and Eden's room. "Dean!" we heard Eden cry out happily. I heard the sound of her running toward him, and I could tell that she'd thrown herself in his arms.

"Hey, sweetheart," he greeted her gently. "How's my girl?"

"Fine," she said, the adoration in her voice obvious. "Are you okay?" She always asked him that whenever he got back from a job. Just like I always asked Sam the same thing.

"Sure," Dean told her, and I could tell he was grinning at her. "Aren't I always?"

Eden snorted softly. "No," she replied firmly.

"Ah, of course I am. You just worry too much." Before she could reply to that I heard the sound of a kiss being given, and Eden giggled. For a moment all we could hear was the sound of kissing, and then Dean spoke again. "Sam get back yet?" he asked Eden.

"Yeah, I'm here, Dean," Sam answered for Eden. Moments later Dean appeared in the doorway with Eden next to him. She leaned around him and stared at me intently, and I gave her a small smile to let her know everything was okay. Pretty much, anyway. She relaxed and smiled back.

Dean was talking again, and I focused on him. "Good," he was saying to Sam. "You been waitin' long?" he asked his brother.

"Not really," Sam told him as he pulled me a little closer. "I'm all packed and ready to go, if you and Eden are ready," he added.

"Yeah, okay," Dean said. "Just give me a few minutes. Your brat ready to go too?" he asked as he turned away.

I stiffened. "I have a name, you know!" I snapped at him.

"Yeah, I know," Dean replied, sounding very unconcerned. He disappeared into the room, and Eden followed him.

"Dean!" she exclaimed loudly.

"What?" he asked, now sounding way too innocent.

"You know what!" she insisted.

"Yeah, you're right," he said with an over done sigh. "I do. But, I don't care." Eden let out a little frustrated groan at that, and I could hear them talking back and forth as they got their stuff together.

I made a face and dropped my head back on Sam's shoulder. "And he calls _me _a brat," I grumbled. Sam laughed at me before pulling me onto his lap. He held me while Dean finished with his last minute packing, and while we waited Sam dropped a kiss on my neck every now and then, and often followed that with a sweet kiss on the lips. By the time Dean was finally ready to go, I was in a pretty good mood, despite the fact that I'd lost my iPod for a whole week.

When we stopped off at a little café down the road I was still pretty relaxed, at least until we all were seated in a small booth. Sam and I sat on one side, while Dean and Eden took the other side. I frowned down at the menu the waitress, a tired looking woman named Maggie, had given me.

My eating habits still weren't the best, even after all this time. Sam had called it right when he said that would be the hardest thing for me to get over. To this day I still couldn't explain it. I just wasn't very interested in food. I still only ate about half my meals, only because Sam made me. I made a face as my eyes scanned the menu. Nothing really sounded good. Ugh.

The waitress came back and took our order for drinks, and when she left again Sam and Dean began talking about the job they had just completed. I grew more nervous as the minutes ticked by. I had no idea what to order because I didn't want anything. I shifted in my seat as I studied the list of sandwiches. Ham and cheese. Yuck. Turkey and cheese. No way. I had vowed never to eat another one of those. Grilled cheese. No. Bologna and cheese. Oh come on. Seriously? Give me a break. My eyes traveled further down the list. Roast beef on a toasted bun. Hmm. Maybe. On second thought, no. Geez.

Suddenly the waitress was back with our drinks. After handing them out to us she pulled her pad out, ready to take our orders.

"Can I have a few more minutes, please?" I spoke up quickly.

Maggie smiled at me. "Sure thing, hon," she said, and with that she was gone.

I kept my eyes on my menu once she was gone, and Sam and Dean went back to talking. Several more minutes passed, and then Sam and Dean paused in their conversation. Quickly I leaned over toward Sam. "Sam?" I nearly whispered.

He leaned closer toward me, slipping his arm around my shoulders. "Rivan," he half whispered back, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

I made a face at him and slapped lightly at his arm. "Don't make fun of me," I told him with a pout. "I want to ask you something."

He grinned at me and gave me a quick kiss. "Yes, you have to eat," he told me as he watched me.

I let out a little groan. "That's not what I was going to ask!" I told him, though the question had crossed my mind. Stupid me.

He laughed softly. "Okay," he relented. "What were you going to ask, then?"

"Can I just order some soup?" I asked him as I eyed the soup list. There wasn't much on it, but I didn't care.

"Sure," Sam told me, and I blinked at him. I hadn't expected it to be that easy. "As long as you order at least half of a sandwich to go with it," he added firmly.

I felt my shoulders droop with disappointment. "But none of the sandwiches sound good," I told him, keeping my tone soft and as whine free as I could get it.

Sam sighed as he leaned over and looked at my menu. "What about a hamburger, then?" he suggested. "You can eat at least half of that, can't you?"

"Yeah, do that," Dean suddenly spoke up, and Sam and I looked over at him. "That way I can eat the other half later on down the road."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Pig," I muttered. Across from me, Eden choked on her Sprite.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Dean asked, a little too loudly. Several other diners glanced our way, curious looks on their faces.

"I said, I don't think it's _**big**_ enough for that," I quickly answered, well aware of the frown Sam was giving me. "Look, it shows a picture of the hamburger. See? It doesn't look very big."

Sam glanced at it. "Then you should be able to eat it all," he said in that reasonable tone of his.

I opened my mouth to voice a complaint, but Dean cut me off. "Hey, make it a bacon cheeseburger," he told me, obviously still dreaming of a snack for later.

"Aren't _you _going to order a bacon cheeseburger?" I asked him with another roll of my eyes.

Dean shrugged. "Sure. But I wouldn't say no to another for later."

"Of course you wouldn't," I muttered. "But that's just too bad. I'm not ordering a bacon cheeseburger. I don't like them," I added, just to annoy him.

For a moment he just sat there and stared at me. "How could you not like bacon cheeseburgers?" he finally demanded. "What planet are you from?"

"The planet of clog free arteries," I informed him smoothly. Sam laughed.

Dean shot him a look. "Leave it to you to find a woman who doesn't like bacon cheeseburgers," he growled at his brother. "At least I got a girl that knows what's good," he said as he put an arm around Eden and pulled her close.

"Of course," Eden replied calmly. "And I know bacon cheeseburgers are _not _good. Rivan, you can order a chef salad," she continued as Dean sat there, sputtering at her. "I think that's what I'm going to have. It's not heavy like a hamburger, and judging by the picture, it doesn't look too big," she added as she studied the menu. She ignored Dean, who was still trying to recover from shock. "Why don't you try it?" she asked me as she looked up at me. Grinning, she winked at me. I knew for a fact that she liked bacon cheeseburgers. She'd just said that to blow Dean's mind while sticking up for me.

I giggled and then looked at Sam. "Is that okay?" I asked hopefully.

Sam sighed as he looked at his menu. "Just a salad?" he asked, not sounding very happy about it.

"Yes," I said softly, waiting. "It's a dinner salad. So it's bigger. A lot of times that's all you eat," I reminded him carefully when he remained silent.

"That's a little different, baby," he told me. Across from him, Dean leaned back in the booth, looking at Eden in a funny way. She looked over at him and smiled sweetly. He grunted and shook his head, picking up his glass of coke as he did. "I'm not having a problem with eating," Sam continued, ignoring his brother. I said nothing, just waited. Finally Sam sighed. "Alright," he said, giving in. "But you better eat more than half," he added quickly. "If that's all you're going to have, you need to try to eat all of it," he told me.

"How about just a little over half?" I suggested.

Sam frowned at me, the warning clear in his eyes. "Rivan," he said, his tone going dark.

"Okay, okay," I squeaked. "I'll eat as much of it as I can." Considering the conversation we'd had at the motel, I knew better than to be too bratty about this.

"Good," Sam said as he went back to his own menu. "You better."

Not long after that the waitress came to take our orders, and while we waited for our food Dean griped about Eden not liking bacon cheeseburgers until Eden burst out laughing. "I _do_ like them, Dean," she told him as she grinned at him.

He blinked. "Then why did you say you didn't?" he asked, his tone indignant.

Eden shrugged. "Just to annoy you," she said calmly. Smiling, she picked her glass up and took a dainty sip of her sprite. "Anyway, why is it so important to you that I like them?" she asked as she placed her glass back on the table.

"Because I like to know that I got a woman that knows what's good in life," Dean told her, still looking a little miffed.

Eden rolled her eyes at him. "Of course I know what's good in life."

Dean grinned. "Well yeah, I guess you do. I mean, you did fall in love with me. Ow! What'd you pinch me for?" he demanded, and I hid my face against Sam's shoulder to cover my giggles.

Eden smiled up at him ever so sweetly. "Because I can," she answered simply.

"Yeah well, you know what I'm gonna do to you just because I can?" he asked her in a low voice as he leaned closer to her.

She winked at him. "Do tell," she said, her voice almost a purr. Sam and I sat there watching, almost mesmerized.

Dean snorted. "And spoil the surprise? I don't think so, sweetheart." Eden laughed, but suddenly Dean leaned over and whispered in her ear. Whatever he said caused Eden's face to turn a bright, beaming red. She stared up at him, her eyes wide. Looking rather satisfied with himself, Dean leaned back in the booth again, a rather smug look on his face. Then I heard a soft thump under the table and he grunted ever so slightly.

Now looking cocky, Dean picked up his own glass. "You just remember who kicked who when I've got you alone in a motel room tonight, sweetheart," he told her before taking a gulp of his coke.

Though I didn't think it was possible, Eden's blush grew deeper, and she squirmed a little. For a moment I thought Dean might mean she was going to get a spanking, but when she looked up at me she had a pleased, if not a little embarrassed, smile on her face. For a moment I just stared at her, and then I grinned widely. Eden huffed and studied the table top, but her smile remained.

At that moment the waitress brought our food, and I could tell it was much to Eden's great relief, and we began to eat. Sam and Dean returned to their previous conversation, and Eden and I chatted about the last mall we had been too, and talked about the ones we hoped to see. Everyone seemed to be enjoying their food, and I did have to admit that my salad was good. But I still wasn't as into it as I should have been, though I ate as much as I could. But all too soon I was poking at what remained on my plate while everyone else was finishing up.

Trying to appear casual, I looked at Sam out of the corner of my right eye. His attention seemed entirely focused on Dean and what he was saying. I looked back at my salad and forced myself to take a few more bites. Even after doing that, I was disheartened to see that I hadn't eaten half of it yet. And I didn't want anymore. Ugh.

I sat there quietly, shoving the greens around my plate a bit. Eden had finished her salad and was trying hard not to watch. Only because she didn't want to draw Sam's attention to me, I knew. I waited a few more minutes, and then I began to push the plate away from me, just a little.

Suddenly Dean's cell phone went off. "Who's that?" Sam asked him. As he spoke he reached over, got my plate, and pulled it back until it was right in front of me again. I looked up at him, my eyes wide. He raised one eyebrow at me, and then looked back at Dean.

"It's Bobby," he said, and answered it. "Hey Bobby," he greeted the older man. "What's up?" He fell silent as he listened, and Sam watched him. With Sam's eyes no longer on me, I pushed my plate away from me once more.

Meanwhile, Dean was frowning at whatever Bobby was saying. "Really? You're tellin' me he can't handle something that simple on his own? I thought he was a hunter."

Dean fell silent again, and I took a risk and gave my plate another push. Suddenly it was right back in front of me. "Rivan," Sam said quietly as he put his arm around me again. "You need to eat a little bit more. You've got more than half left."

"But I don't want anymore," I told him softly.

Sam was quiet for a moment, and then he reached up and stroked my hair. "Why not?" he asked me.

I shrugged. "I just don't," I said.

"Not a good answer. Eat, Rivan," he ordered me.

I groaned just a little. "But I don't _want _anymore," I said again, and this time my voice had a definite whine to it.

Sam sighed deeply and pulled me closer. He leaned down to whisper in my ear. "Do you want to stand in the corner when we stop tonight?" he asked me very quietly.

I went still. "No, sir," I replied in a tiny voice.

"Good. Do you want a spanking when we stop tonight?" he asked next.

I let out a little huff. "No, sir!"

"Then you need to eat a little more of that salad," Sam told me firmly. I let out another huff but didn't move. "How about another week without your iPod?" Sam asked. "Along with the promised corner time and spanking?" he added.

I gritted my teeth. Gah! _Oh_! What an irritating, stubborn man! I let out one more huff, this one much louder, and then grabbed my fork. Not caring how it looked, I loaded the fork with greens and then shoved it in my mouth, chewing hard as I glared down at my plate. I could feel Eden's eyes on me, and I knew she gazed at me with a look of pity.

While I was still chewing Dean suddenly got up, the cell phone still pressed against his ear. "I'll be right back," he muttered to Sam. "Eden," he said, holding a hand out to her.

She stared up at him. "I want to stay here," she said.

I watched as Dean's eyes hardened. He pressed his lips together before beckoning to Eden. "Now," he told her in a low, sharp voice. Eden didn't push it. Pouting, she slid out of the booth and took his hand.

Dean glanced at Sam. "Be right back," he said again before turning away.

Sam frowned. "Okay," he said, sounding curious. He watched his brother and Eden leave the restaurant, and then he turned his attention back to me. I shoveled another bite of salad in my mouth, barely tasting the food. Sam sighed and leaned down again. "If you can manage to stop being a brat and eat normally, I'll reward you tonight instead of punishing you," he whispered into my ear. "Wouldn't that be a nice change?"

I went still again and thought a moment. "Can I have my iPod back?" I asked hopefully.

"No," Sam said, his tone surprisingly gentle. "That's punishment for doing something dumb that could have gotten you hurt. There's no going back on that."

I made a face. Should have known. "So what kind of reward are we talking about?" I asked him as I used my fork to poke at a rather large piece of lettuce.

Sam chuckled, the sound low and husky. "What kind of reward do you want?" he asked me, still whispering.

For a moment I just sat there, now dragging my fork through my salad. "I don't know," I finally told Sam, just to see what he'd say.

He laughed again, softly, and the sound sent delicious shivers down my spine. "Well then, I'll just have to use my imagination," he replied, and rested his hand on my thigh. Keeping his fingers still, he began to rub slow circles with his thumb. I could feel the slight pressure through my jeans, and I smiled.

"Fine then," I said, and went back to my salad, eating slowly now and not with the fuel of anger.

Sam laughed and dropped a kiss on my temple. "That was easy," he said as he picked up his glass and drained the last of his water.

"Don't get used to it," I said with a smirk.

He snorted and put his glass down. "Wouldn't dream of it," he told me as he dropped his arm from around my shoulders. He took his right hand off my thigh but put his left hand in its place, and gave my leg a squeeze. I rolled my eyes and went back to my salad.

Minutes later Dean returned, Eden following behind him, her hand in Dean's. Eden slid into the booth quickly and Dean followed. Eden gave me a questioning look, and I just smiled at her. She relaxed and looked over at Dean as he snapped his phone shut.

"So what did Bobby want?" Sam asked him.

"Well, he's got a job for us," he told Sam as he shoved his phone into his pocket.

Sam frowned. "Always one after another," he said with a sigh. "So where's it at?" he asked before Dean could say anything to that.

"Mississippi," Dean answered. "Vicksburg," he added.

Sam perked up a little. "Oh yeah? Well, that's not much of a surprise, really. They've got that Civil War military park there. There's always some kind of haunting being reported in that area. And then they've got a few of those old houses that survived the Civil War. The place is practically ghost central. I'm surprised we never had a job there before now."

"Well, we got one now," Dean said with a sigh.

Sam nodded. "Okay. So what's the deal on it?" Interested myself now, I put my fork down and waited. Sam didn't seem to notice that I'd stopped eating.

"You remember the guy that let us use that house in Maine?" Dean asked. Eden shifted around until she was looking at Dean, just as interested as I was.

"Sure," Sam told him.

"Remember Bobby said he was a hunter once upon a time, and that Bobby saved his ass about five years ago from a spook?" Sam nodded, waiting. "You remember Bobby saying that guy had a son?" Sam nodded again. "Well apparently Junior needs a little help getting rid of a big bad ghost," Dean said, smirking.

Sam stared at him. "Why can't his father take care of it?" he asked. "I mean, I don't mind helping, but if his dad used to be a hunter, he should be able to handle that."

"I'm sure he could," Dean said with a shrug. "Only thing is, dear daddy is off on a trip somewhere in Europe. He left the ghost business to his kid."

Sam shook his head. "Okay," he said slowly, frowning. "So obviously Pops didn't teach the guy anything about hunting."

"Nope," Dean said, almost sneering. "Not enough, anyway. Guy's freaking out, doesn't know what to do. He called Bobby and asked him to get in touch with us. Says he needs us to come soon, before the old man gets back."

Sam rolled his eyes. "So what's the problem exactly?"

"Bobby said the guy told him there's a ghost running wild in that park you mentioned. The military park."

"Has it hurt anyone?" Sam wanted to know.

"No, not yet, but it's doing a hell of a job at scarin' away all the tourist. Even during the day," Dean said with a snort.

Sam was quiet for a moment. "So it's a ghost of one of the soldiers," he said.

"Nah, it's the ghost of Lee's dog," Dean growled. "Of course it's a solider!"

Sam frowned at him, and so did I. "Don't be an ass, Dean," he told his brother with a frown.

"He can't help it," Eden suddenly spoke up.

Dean looked at her sharply, and she bit down on her lip. "Watch it, sweetheart," he warned her. Eden wrinkled her nose at him ever so slightly before looking away, and I quickly hid a grin.

For a moment everyone was quiet, and then Sam cleared his throat. "Okay, but I find it hard to believe that this guy, what's his name?"

Dean blinked. "Uh…Thomas," he said. "I think. Yeah, it's Thomas. Thomas Nichols.**"**

"Okay then, I find it hard to believe that Thomas didn't pick anything up from his dad as far as hunting goes. I mean, come on. He's got to know the basics. Finding the body, salting and burning the bones. Please tell me he's tried that."

Dean scratched his head. "Well, Bobby said he did, but apparently that didn't work."

"So then there's something else keeping the ghost here. Something that belonged to him. A lock of hair, a blood stain, something."

"Gee, you think, genius?" Dean asked with a roll of his eyes.

Anger rose up in me like boiling lava, and I sat up, glaring at Dean. My mouth flew open, but Sam suddenly grabbed my hand. "Rivan," he said, the warning clear. Huffing, I sat back in my seat, giving Dean dirty looks. Dean grinned at me and winked. I have never wanted to spear someone with a fork more than I did at that moment.

"Okay," Sam said, looking back at his brother. "So there's something keeping the ghost here. Did you ask Bobby if Thomas tried to find out what it is?"

"Of course I did," Dean grumbled. "According to Bobby, the guy thinks that whatever it is, it's in a mausoleum, which is in a cemetery on Thomas' property. The guy wasn't in the mausoleum, but he was buried close to it. Bobby said Thomas told him that the mausoleum has the dead guy's parents in it."

Sam stared. "So this ghost is haunting the military park, but he's buried in Thomas' backyard."

"Yep," Dean replied.

Sam nodded. "Is Thomas absolutely sure there's something in the mausoleum that's keeping this ghost here?"

Dean frowned. "Well, Bobby said he didn't sound one hundred percent certain," he admitted.

Sam nodded again. "So there could easily be a different reason why he's hanging around. Obviously this guy died somewhere in the park, or the battle field as it was back then, so maybe that's keeping him tied to the park for some reason. I can just imagine how violent his death must have been, so that could be something that's keeping him around. Could be a good enough reason to make his soul restless. That's one option we're looking at here. Then we have the mausoleum idea. We can't rule that out all together right now because we don't have enough information." Sam was quiet for a few moments. "Is Thomas related to this ghost? Is it an ancestor?"

Dean shook his head. "Nope. Apparently this ghost, whoever he is, was friends with Thomas' family around that time, and somehow he ended up buried on their property. His parents, too. Not sure how that happened."

Sam thought for a moment. "Well, the Union soldiers could have confiscated his own family lands by that point. Or, the man's family could have lived outside the Union barricade. If that was the case, then they couldn't get the body through to bury him and may have decided to bury him on the property of another Southern family that they were close to," Sam suggested with shrug.

Dean blinked. I think Sam's answer surprised him, and I'm not sure why. "Yeah, those are good points," he said. "Guess it doesn't really matter how he got buried on Thomas' property, though. Our problem is figuring out why he's still here."

Sam sighed. "So did Thomas try to get into the mausoleum and find whatever's in there and burn it to get rid of the ghost?" he asked, sounding a bit tired.

"Nope," Dean said calmly.

Sam narrowed his eyes a bit. "Why not?"

Dean grinned at him. "Because he can't get it open."

Sam frowned. "He can't get the mausoleum open?"

"Nope. Bobby said he tried everything. Thomas thinks it's locked with some kind of magic. That's why he wants us to come. He's hopin' we can figure out what's up and get the thing cracked. He wants us to come as soon as possible. He can't ask his old man for help because the old man expects junior to figure it out on his own. Well, junior can't, so that's where we come in."

Sam sighed deeply. "Okay," he said as he ran a hand over his eyes. "Alright, fine. Let's go to Vicksburg, then."

Dean smiled. "Sounds good to me. You girls ready?" he asked me and Eden.

"I'm ready," Eden said just as she was finishing her sprite.

"Me too," I added. I looked over at Sam, who was eyeing my plate. "I ate enough, didn't I?" I asked him, my tone pleading.

"Yeah, you ate enough," he assured me. "Come on, let's get going. We need to fuel up before we start for Mississippi."

"How far are we from Vicksburg?" I asked Sam as Dean pulled his wallet out to pay the bill. Minutes later we were back out in the sunshine, heading toward the Impala.

"A good six hours, at least," Sam told me as he reached the passenger door. He unlocked it and then unlocked my door for me. Always the gentleman, he opened the door for me, and I slid in. Dean did the same for Eden. "I know we're gonna have to stop for the night and drive into Vicksburg tomorrow," he added. He closed my door before I could say anything.

By the time he got into the car I had my seatbelt on, as did Eden. "That's just great. A long trip," I grumbled. Nobody heard me, and I sighed as Dean started up the Impala and guided us out of the restaurant's parking lot. Right next door was a gas station, and he pulled into it. Fifteen minutes later we pulled out with a full tank of gas, and Dean was heading toward the Interstate. As he maneuvered his way onto it I thought again about the long drive ahead, and then my mind went to my iPod. I hated not having it. Maybe I should have taken the spanking instead. I frowned at that thought. No, being able to sit comfortably during a long drive was better than listening to music.

At that moment Dean turned his music on and cranked up the volume. Okay, maybe sitting comfortably was _not _worth it. "Oh Dean, do we have to listen to that right now?" I complained as the Impala picked up speed. "Can't we just talk or something?"

"Sorry, honey," he said, and I could tell by his tone he wasn't at all sorry. "You know how it goes. Driver picks the music. Everyone else shuts their cake holes."

My temper shot up at that. "I do _not _have a cake hole!" I snapped at him.

"Rivan," Sam said with a sigh.

"Well I don't!" I insisted. "I have a _mouth_."

"Yeah, we all know that," Dean said with a snort.

"Well I'm surprised you do, since _your _mouth is the loudest and drowns out what everyone else is saying!"

Sam turned around at that to spear me with a sharp look. "That's enough," he warned.

"But Sam, he's being a—"

"Jerk," Eden put in for me. "Really Dean, you don't have to be so rude. I mean, do you think _my _mouth is nothing but a cake hole?" she asked him.

"Of course not. Your mouth is a treasure trove. But I wasn't talkin' about your mouth."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you said _everyone_ shuts their cake holes."

Dean laughed. "Don't worry, sweetheart," he told her, his voice silky smooth. "I'm gonna correct you, alright."

Eden's mouth dropped open. "That's not fair!" she whined. "You are such a—"

"Easy, sweetheart," Dean told her with a little laugh. "Save the feisty for the bedroom tonight. Remember I've got a surprise for you," he added, and now his tone was positively wicked.

I watched as Eden's eyes went wide before her face turned red again. Completely speechless, she leaned back in her seat and looked out her window, but not before I caught the pleased smile on her face. I relaxed a little and leaned back too. Sighing, I glanced out my window and watched the scenery flash by.

"Hey," Sam suddenly said.

I looked away from my window to find him studying me. He smiled at me, and I smiled back. "What?" I asked.

"You okay?" he asked me.

"Of course," I told him. "I'm with you." I heard Dean snort at that, but I ignored him.

Sam did too. His smile turned gentle and tender, and the look in his eyes told me that all the love I would ever need was right there inside him. "Then that means I'm okay too," Sam told me.

"Then I'd say we're set for life," I replied softly.

He grinned. "Always," he said quietly. We stared at each other for a moment, and then he winked at me before turning back around.

I breathed in deeply and looked over to find Eden watching me, a content smile on her face too. She reached out and squeezed my hand for a moment, and I squeezed back. Neither one of us let go as we went back to gazing out our windows, watching the world slip by us. As I did I thought about the past events. Eden and I had been through a lot, and Sam and Dean had been by our sides every second of it. Nothing had ever felt so right for me. I was exactly where I belonged. And I was with exactly who I was supposed to be with. And so it would be, from now until eternity.

Up front, Dean turned the radio up a bit. But this time it wasn't a song I minded. The familiar lyrics of a song by Kansas filled the car.

"_Carry on, my wayward son. There'll be peace when you are done…_"

Smiling, I leaned back again and closed my eyes. Though there was not one person in this car that was done with everything they were meant to do, we had all found our peace already. We'd found it together, and together we would keep it.

Slowly I drifted off to sleep. The Impala continued on, carry us, as it always would, to our future. Our future together.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that is it! The last chapter of the story. Thank you all so much for reading it, and I hoped you liked it well enough. I just want to let everyone know that as of now, I'm taking a break from fanfiction. I don't know for how long, but I do have plans for more stories about Rivan and Eden. When I get something written that sounds decent, I plan on posting it. Until then, I'll be around, reading stories and all that jazz. Again, thank you to everyone for your support. I met some awesome people here, and life is better because of that. Take care, everyone. Love ya. And of course, reviews are welcome, as long as they are polite.<strong>


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